Public Procurement and Property

Single Procurement Document (SPD) standardised statements for a ‘Net Zero Nation’!

April 13, 2022 by Niamh Duncan No Comments | Category Climate and Procurement Forum, climate change, net zero, Procurement news

We’re pleased to launch Single Procurement Document (SPD) standardised statements to empower organisations to address climate impact in their contracting!

This exciting SPD update comes from the work of our Climate and Procurement Forum. The forum was established to provide leadership and direction to best utilise the £13.3 billion public sector spend to help address the Climate Emergency.

Procurement professionals recognise their responsibility to be climate literate and to have an appreciation of how contracting activity can support net-zero aims for their organisation and Scotland as a whole.

The Supplier and Market Engagement work stream of the forum has been central to the collaborative effort to develop and test new Single Procurement Document (SPD) standardised statements on environmental management to help public bodies meet this responsibility.

 Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise Ivan McKee said:

“We want to help buyers and suppliers alike, not just to reduce their environmental impact now, but also to build real climate resilience in the future.

“This guidance on how to use environmental management criteria is a welcome resource for all. The staged approach we have taken will address our larger high climate impact contracts first, while giving smaller businesses time to prepare so we can move towards Net Zero together.”

About the standardised statements

The SPD question 4C7 is used to ask bidders for public contracts to provide necessary environmental management information. The new standardised statements allow public bodies to ask bidders for Scottish contracts for information about their capability to meet Scotland’s climate change targets in the form of a climate change plan.

A staged approach has been developed that asks for strong climate commitments from high climate impact procurements and lighter touch requirements for low value/ risk contracts. This will encourage all bidders to address climate change where they may not already be doing so and ensures a Just Transition by keeping requirements accessible and proportionate for SME bidders.

Sources of information and support

The new standardised statements can be found on the Procurement Journey, as well as guidance for buyers in the new Climate Emergency page on the Procurement Journey.

A new Climate Emergency page on the Supplier Journey provides guidance for buyers on how to take climate into account when bidding for public contracts. Pre-filled example Climate Change Plan Templates are also available on the Supplier Journey. Guidance on how to evaluate Bidder Climate Change Plan Templates is available on the Climate Change Guidance page of the Sustainable Procurement Tools.

The Supplier Development Programme (SDP) provides free support in all aspects of tendering to Scottish-based SMEs, supported businesses and third sector organisations. Working in partnership with all 32 Local Authorities, Scottish Government and other public bodies, SDP delivers this support through a programme of free training and events.

The Climate Literacy eLearning is hosted on the Sustainable Procurement Tools platform and can be used by both buyers and suppliers to boost their climate capability.

For further information or to provide feedback please contact us at:scottishprocurement@gov.scot.

To find out more about Public Procurement in Scotland, please visit www.gov.scot/procurement

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Tags: climate change, contracts, environmental benefits, procurement, Public procurement, public sector, public sector procurement, Scottish Government procurement, Scottish Procurement, Supplier Development Programme, Sustainability, sustainable procurement, Sustainable Procurement Duty tools

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