Councillor Westlake,
Scotland Excel Executive
Sub-Committee
Sustainable procurement
Scotland Excel has been a long-time champion of sustainable procurement
and its power to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits
for communities. Sustainable procurement has driven innovation in our
procurement strategies, and their impact has been recognised with
national awards.
Over the next five years, we are committed to
continuous development of our approach to deliver
even greater benefits for people and communities
across Scotland. our commitment to creating opportunities for
SMEs, third sector organisations and supported
businesses, and our efforts to promote innovation
through the procurement process.
Scottish companies account for c. 62% of all
suppliers on Scotland Excel national frameworks,
and c. 78% of these are SMEs. We believe that there
is still ample opportunity for local companies to
take part in our tenders, and we will work with
councils and partners to promote opportunities
to SMEs, third sector organisations and supported
businesses to support local economic impact
and jobs. We have considered Fair Work Practices, including
payment of the Scottish Living Wage, within tenders
since early 2015. Of the 494 suppliers appointed
since then, 406 (82%) pay the Living Wage, 60
are Living Wage Accredited, and a further 95 are
committed to achieving accreditation within
two years.
We will continue to enhance our methods for
monitoring the social, economic and environmental
impact of our contracts, and use the findings
to target further value. As a key member of the
Scottish Government Policy Group and Best
Practice Forum, we will continue to play a leading
role in the development of sustainable procurement
practices. We will advance sustainable procurement
knowledge and expertise within our sector through
our education and business change programmes.
Progress to date
In December 2016, we published our sustainable
procurement strategy which sets out our
approach to considering the social, economic and
environmental wellbeing of our communities within
our procurement strategies. This also includes
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In addition, social value is delivered through
the community benefits in our contracts which,
since 2013, have supported 274 jobs and 200
apprenticeships, almost 60,000 hours of work
experience, and over £285,000 of community and
charitable initiatives. We also support the Eco-
Schools programme, operated internationally
by the Foundation for Environmental Education
(FEE), which involves schools, pupils and their
communities in protecting the environment.
Scotland Excel has incorporated the Eco-Schools
programme into evaluation criteria for two social
care frameworks. As a result, the number of
children’s residential care services that hold the
Eco-Schools International Green Flag Award will
increase from 6% to 83% over the next four years,
while all secure care providers have committed to
achieving the award by 2020.
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