Sustainable Procurement

Sustainable Procurement means buying goods, services and works in a way that

  • gives value for money 
  • provides benefits for the Council
  • provides benefits for society, the economy and the environment.

Argyll and Bute Council is committed to balancing environmental, social and economic principles and to working with all sectors of the business community in order to achieve this. In support of this, the Council has nominated the Head of Legal and Regulatory Support, David Logan, as its Sustainable Procurement Champion.

"We want to ensure that all our procurement activity is done in a way that benefits our local economy, for example providing new jobs, training and learning opportunities.  We are committed to always using products that minimise any negative impact on our environment and actively support recycling, reuse and sharing where we can.   It’s my job to ensure that this becomes second nature in all the council’s procurements.” David Logan, Sustainable Procurement Champion, 2021

Sustainable Procurement Policy:

Argyll and Bute Council is committed to delivering sustainable procurement according to the principles set out in the current Argyll and Bute Council Sustainable Procurement Policy.

The aim of this Policy is to embed sustainability principles (social, economic and environmental) into all procurement within Argyll and Bute Council.  The document looks at how our sustainability aims fit with wider council and public sector priorities, and is aligned to the current Argyll and Bute Council Procurement Strategy and our Corporate Plan - you can read both these documents in our Plans and Policies section

Community Benefits:

Community Benefit Clauses enable the Council to include contractual requirements in contracts to ensure that suppliers deliver wider social benefits as part of the contract.

The Council's Community Benefits Clauses in Procurement Guide requires Community Benefit Clauses in tenders for supplies and services contracts over £100k and all works contracts over £2m (or lower if appropriate) unless there is a compelling justification not to do so.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Third Sector Organisations and Local Businesses:

Successful local businesses will reduce unemployment. Economic growth is one of the council's key priorities and procurement can play an important part in developing this objective.

The council is committed to ensuring opportunities are open to all and that SMEs, Third Sector organisations and local businesses should not be disadvantaged in any way in the tender process.

The council is an active member of the Supplier Development Programme (SDP).

The council advertises all tenders through the Public Contracts Scotland website. Businesses can subscribe to receive automatic emails when adverts are placed for their chosen sphere of work.

Supported Businesses:

A Supported Business is a business where at least 30% of its employees have a disability or are disadvantaged.

The potential for involvement of supported businesses is considered at the Commodity Sourcing Strategy development stage, which is mandatory within Argyll and Bute Council for all regulated and OJEU level procurements (over £50,000 value for Supplies and Services and over £2,000,000 for Works).

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