Task force criticises procurement

Despite numerous policy statements in support of sustainability, suppliers are often frustrated when sustainable elements proposed at tender stage are thrown out.

These are the findings of the Sustainable Procurement Task Force, chaired by ex-Carillion chief Neville Simms. “When the construction industry offers sustainable alternatives to the government, government is not always open

to these alternatives,” said Simms. “The government has been inconsistent in responding to these alternatives.”

Simms also called for mandatory to mean mandatory and sanctions to be imposed on those parts of government that did not comply.

The task force has selected construction, which accounts for £55bn of the £150bn of public spending a year, as the highest priority for sustainable procurement.

The findings also highlight the disparity between trying to develop sustainably and capital budgets. A case study from Morrison tells how it included zonal heating controls in a proposed design for a public building. These were replaced by single zone controls in the value engineering exercise which, though cheaper in capital terms, mean heating stays on in parts of the building which are not in use.

The report set out six recommendations, the first being “lead by example”. It also sets out a five-level framework and says that by mid-2009 all government departments must be at level three and at least one area of procurement on level five. Level five demands that lifecycle analysis has been carried out, sustainability KPIs agreed with suppliers and that progress is rewarded or penalised based on performance.

Simms said local government was inconsistent in its approach: “On one hand we found that some local authorities were operating much more like private companies and we found some of the best practice there. Others said ‘unless we have firm guidelines, we cannot do it’.”

Simms will be touring the country in July to promote the findings, although the government has given itself until autumn to respond. But Ian Pearson, minister of state for culture and the environment, commented: “There is no reason why local government should not look at the report now and just get on with it.”