Public Procurement and Property

Falkirk Council – Climate Change Plans within Care Contracts

January 9, 2025 by Teigan Kelly No Comments | Category Scottish Procurement, Sustainability

The latest addition to the Sustainable Procurement Tools website is a case study detailing how Falkirk Council is addressing climate change and other sustainable procurement factors in its two new frameworks for care requirements. The case study outlines how the Council has engaged with suppliers of all sizes to encourage them to address greenhouse gas emissions in their operations.

Focussing on the frameworks for the Provision of Care and Support at Home and the Provision of Care Homes for Adults Under 65, the case study describes how the Council is applying a practical approach to collaborating with suppliers on the development and application of relevant carbon reduction measures as part of the procurement process. The case study also describes the Council’s approach to addressing Fair Work practices in these frameworks.

“The approach we took was based on an understanding that all organisations are at different stages in their knowledge and actions to reduce carbon emissions. However, we want to be, collectively, moving in the same direction by working together to share our understanding, share our experiences and make progress along this journey together.” James King, Procurement Coordinator at Falkirk Council.

In particular, the case study describes the Council’s approach to:

• early consideration of climate change, circular economy and community benefits in developing the procurement strategy
• early market engagement with suppliers of all sizes involving a range of approaches
• the supplier selection process and how the use of the Single Procurement Document 4C.7 question was adapted to suit this procurement and its outcomes
• ensuring that Fair Work principles were addressed within the specification and tender
• using the contract and supplier management process to seek opportunities for development and continual improvement in carbon reduction

The benefits and lessons learned from adapting this approach include:

• that by addressing environmental and social impacts in the procurement, the frameworks will contribute to organisational priorities and relevant National outcomes within the Performance Framework and importantly deliver high quality care services to the most vulnerable residents
• the importance of applying a relevant and proportionate approach to carbon reduction in contracts which takes into account market capabilities
• that the approach adopted to address climate impacts will enable the implementation and acceleration of carbon reduction and inform future iterations of the frameworks
• that the data collected as part of this process will help the Council to identify supply chain emissions for this service, replacing a spend-based carbon analysis and enabling the Council and providers to address and establish emissions baselines to monitor continual improvement
• the Council will work collaboratively with providers to share knowledge and experience of implementing plans to reduce carbon footprint and waste minimisation and how learnings can support carbon reduction in other frameworks, as appropriate

Find out more about Falkirk Council’s approach on the Case Studies Section of the Sustainable Procurement Tools website, which can be accessed by registered and unregistered users of the Tools.

The case study recognises the importance of sharing lessons learned with colleagues. If you are a public body and would like to share an example of how your organisation addressed sustainability matters in a procurement exercise, please contact scottishprocurement@gov.scot

Further sources of support

Our Sustainable Procurement Tools have been designed to help public sector organisations identify and address how they can optimise the economic, social and environmental outcomes of their procurement activity. This new product complements the existing materials already available on the Sustainable Procurement Tools:

• eLearning
• ‘How to’ videos
• completed sustainability test examples
• Supporting guidance

For further information on public procurement in Scotland please visit www.gov.scot/procurement

Please email enquiries to scottishprocurement@gov.scot

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Tags: Scottish Procurement, sustainable procurement tools

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