LGP Sustainable Procurement Survey Analysis

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LGP Sustainable Procurement Survey Analysis

Every year, LGP’s Sustainable Choice program invites councils to participate in an annual survey to assess their progress on embedding sustainability into procurement. The results, together with recommendations for action, are provided to councils in confidential, individualised reports.

Since 2017, the annual survey has been designed to align with the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Guidance standard. The survey also asks councils about the support they need to embed sustainability into procurement.

LGP recently analysed all responses from the past six years and gained the following insights:

  • The vast majority of participating councils are at an “activated” or “intermediate” level, with very few at an “advanced” level.
  • Integrating sustainability into procurement policy and strategy documentation is the area where councils are having the most success.
  • Fewer councils report integrating sustainability into the actual procurement processes than previously.
  • Internal and external stakeholder engagement by councils has been gradually improving.

When considering the support they would need to better implement sustainable procurement, councils have told LGP consistently that they want to hear success stories and case studies from other councils. Council staff particularly want to hear more about how procurement can be used to effect change in topical areas such as working towards net zero emissions and circular economy. To respond to this, Sustainable Choice are looking for more real-life council stories that can be used in case studies, webinars and newsletters. If you have a story that could help other councils, please get in touch!

Councils have also told us that they want to better identify and connect with sustainable suppliers and sustainable products. LGP includes sustainability considerations into all LGP tenders and contracts and is committed to continually improving this process. Following tender evaluation, Sustainability Filter Tags are assigned to those Approved Contractors that meet the required criteria. Councils can then use these filters when searching for more sustainable suppliers when purchasing from LGP Contracts. More information on Sustainability Filter Tags and how to access them is available here.

The 2023 Sustainable Procurement Survey for councils will be conducted in September/October.

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