Public Procurement and Property

Updated guidance on Community Benefits in procurement

November 13, 2025 by Scottish Procurement No Comments | Category community benefits, Scottish Procurement, Sustainability

Public procurement isn’t just about buying goods and services – it’s a powerful tool for creating jobs, building skills, and reducing inequality. We have published updated interim guidance on Community Benefits in procurement, now available on the Sustainable Procurement Tools website. This refreshed guidance supports the delivery of employment, skills, and training outcomes through public sector contracts – helping to maximise social impact across Scotland.

The guidance underpins our long-standing Community Benefits in Procurement policy, making clear links to Equality, Fair Work First, and opportunities for SMEs, social enterprises, supported businesses, and third sector to compete for public contracts. It promotes equality and reducing inequality by encouraging the inclusion of targeted recruitment and training opportunities for priority groups in relevant procurements.

What’s inside?

• practical advice aligned with the Procurement Journey
• example contract clauses and key performance indicators
• easy-to-navigate layout for quick reference
• downloadable Microsoft Word version

This guidance is part of a broader suite of resources available from the Sustainable Procurement Tools website, designed to help public bodies embed sustainable outcomes in their procurement activity.

We want your feedback

We’re keen to hear from colleagues across the public sector and stakeholders with an interest in employment, skills, and training. Your insights will help us refine and improve the guidance.

Please share the interim guidance with your networks and send feedback to scottishprocurement@gov.scot by Friday 28 November.

Renfrewshire Council – delivering social impact alongside project outcomes

This impressive new case study from Renfrewshire Council showcases their community-focused approach in a high-profile local procurement. They carried out extensive engagement to develop community benefits and used their strong internal governance arrangements to realise and maximise these benefits during contract delivery, supporting local employment, skills development, and inclusive economic growth.

Find out more about Renfrewshire Council’s approach on the Case Studies section of the website.

If your public body has a great example of embedding sustainability in procurement, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at scottishprocurement@gov.scot.

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: Community benefits, sustainable procurement tools

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