Helping Councils Identify Circular Economy Suppliers Faster

LGP has completed the first phase of its Circular Economy Supplier Assessment Program, giving councils greater visibility of suppliers that support circular procurement and sustainability objectives.

More than 1,000 suppliers across LGP contract panels were invited to participate in the assessment, with more than 600 responses received by the deadline.

The initiative is helping LGP build a stronger understanding of supplier circular economy capabilities and provide councils with better access to information that can support more informed procurement decisions.

Making circular procurement easier for councils

As sustainability, ESG and circular economy considerations become increasingly important to local government, councils are looking for practical ways to incorporate these principles into procurement.

However, identifying suppliers that offer circular economy products, services and solutions across the wide range of categories councils purchase from can be a time-consuming task.

“Councils are looking to incorporate circular economy principles into their procurement processes but identifying suppliers that provide circular solutions across the wide range of categories councils purchase from can be a very time-consuming task,” said Dr Hadi Vandchali, Consultant, ESG and Procurement Services at LGP.

LGP's Circular Economy Supplier Assessment Program was developed to help address this challenge by improving visibility of suppliers that may be able to support councils' sustainability and circular economy objectives.

From supplier assessment to actionable information

LGP had previously used SurveyMonkey to conduct circular economy supplier assessments. While this enabled the organisation to collect supplier responses, the process was disconnected from supplier and contract records.

Responses sat outside LGP's contract management ecosystem, creating data silos and requiring manual administration. The team needed to download responses, map them against supplier records, cross-check information and consolidate data.

This also made it more difficult to track progress, follow up with suppliers, validate claims and produce meaningful reports. Supporting documentation, such as environmental certifications, could not be easily linked to each supplier's record.

Rather than simply digitising the existing survey process, LGP wanted to integrate supplier assessment information into its broader supplier and contract management processes.

Working with OneAdvanced, which provides the Source-to-Contract platform already used by LGP for supplier and contract management, the assessment process was integrated into the existing procurement environment.

This enabled supplier assessments, supporting evidence and reporting to be managed alongside existing supplier and contract information.

Strong supplier engagement

The first phase of the assessment was launched to more than 1,000 suppliers across LGP contract panels.

Supplier participation was voluntary but strongly encouraged. LGP positioned the assessment as an opportunity for suppliers to showcase sustainability initiatives and circular economy products and services, and to differentiate themselves within the LGP network.

The rollout also involved a change management process, with suppliers accustomed to receiving SurveyMonkey links now being asked to respond through a system-driven process.

Suppliers were able to view assessment questions in one place, provide responses, add comments, request extensions and upload supporting evidence.

More than 600 responses were received by the deadline; approximately double the participation achieved through the previous assessment process.

Improving visibility of sustainable suppliers

One of the key outcomes of the initiative is improved visibility of supplier circular economy capabilities.

Suppliers that successfully demonstrate their circular economy capabilities receive filter tags within the system, enabling councils to more easily identify suppliers that may be able to support their sustainability and ESG objectives.

The integrated dashboard also allows LGP to analyse supplier information across specific contract panels, review responses by category and identify suppliers with relevant circular economy capabilities.

This panel-level visibility is particularly important because circular economy opportunities vary across the different categories of goods and services procured by councils, including civil works, playground equipment, waste management and other council services.

“The outcome of this assessment helps councils identify suppliers that can support them in achieving their sustainability objectives without requiring them to conduct detailed assessments themselves,” said Dr Vandchali.

A stronger evidence base for procurement

Another important benefit of the assessment process is the ability to link supplier responses with supporting documentation.

Suppliers can upload documentation as part of the assessment process, including environmental certifications, accreditations, reports and other evidence.

This provides LGP with greater visibility of suppliers' circular economy initiatives and capabilities, supports a more informed assessment process and improves transparency when identifying suppliers that may be able to contribute to circular procurement outcomes.

For councils, this creates an opportunity to access supplier information and assessment outcomes through LGP's existing procurement ecosystem rather than having to undertake detailed assessments independently.

Building a broader ESG procurement capability

The Circular Economy Supplier Assessment Program also provides a foundation for future ESG initiatives.

The success of the first phase has created a roadmap for future collaboration between LGP and OneAdvanced, with future phases expected to expand into other ESG areas, including:

• Social procurement
• Indigenous supplier engagement
• Modern slavery
• Carbon emissions
• Broader sustainability reporting requirements

This creates the potential for supplier assessment information to become an increasingly valuable part of procurement, supplier and contract management across LGP.

Looking ahead

The first phase of the Circular Economy Supplier Assessment Program represents an important step in helping councils identify suppliers that can support sustainable procurement outcomes.

By bringing supplier information, assessment responses, supporting evidence and reporting together in a single environment, LGP is improving visibility while reducing the manual effort previously required to manage the assessment process.

The broader objective is to make it easier for councils to access information that can support responsible procurement decisions and to continue strengthening LGP's capability in sustainability, ESG and circular economy procurement.

As these requirements continue to evolve, LGP will continue to explore ways to support councils and suppliers through practical, integrated procurement solutions.