Sustainable Procurement

During Glasgow’s Climate Week it is important to think about all the ways that our organisational activities impact the environment. This includes thinking about what we buy, also referred to as procurement.

Sustainable procurement means including environmental, societal and economic considerations into procurement processes. It aims to reduce the impact on the environment and increase the benefit to society as much as possible throughout the procurement process.

Everything we purchase has an impact on the environment, especially when thinking about emissions. If you think about something you might buy, there will be emissions to create the item, transport the item, store it, display it in a store or warehouse and potentially transport further. There is also then the impact of waste when you are finished with the item. Buying things will also be affected by the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events like storms and flooding affecting transportation of goods and the changing climate affecting availability of materials. It is clear that climate change is extremely important to procurement.

Any organisation which buys goods or services will have a procurement process. It is important that climate change is considered in this process to be prepared for climate impacts and to reduce emissions.

As a local authority, Glasgow City Council buys a huge amount of goods, services and works to support staff and services. This currently totals £807 million each year across the council family. Due to this large scale, it is extremely important that we consider sustainable procurement.

Glasgow City Council approved its Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2023-2027 in 2023 and outlines the vision, objectives and actions which will direct procurement activity in the council. The six key objectives from this strategy are outlined below.

1. Support the Council’s Net Zero, Ecological and Adaptation Ambitions
2. Provide Effective and Efficient Procurement for our Stakeholders
3. Shape and Drive Innovation
4. Support Local Wealth Building and Economic Growth
5. Procurement to be a Strategic partner for Council Services
6. Support the Council Financial Challenges

The first key objective recognises the importance of procurement in reducing emissions to help reach Net Zero and also in adapting to the impacts of climate change. Within this objective several aims are included such as working with suppliers to improve resilience of supply chains, reducing emissions through supply chains and supporting the circular economy. Click here to find out more about the circular economy.

This is not only important for organisations. We can all think about the things that we buy and try to reduce the negative impacts from this. Next time you buy something, whether it’s food, clothes, technology or furniture, think about the emissions and how climate change might affect how you buy that thing in the future.