In January 2024, the East of England Regional Climate Change Forum (RCCF), launched a collaborative responsible (sustainable) procurement project involving 13 local councils in the region. This was to help them meet one of their eight objectives, namely, to “explore opportunities for joint procurement and support the sharing of sustainable procurement best practice”.
You can read about the project and its results of this project HERE. The Project, which finished on time and in budget met all of its objectives, achieved a satisfaction rate of 4 out of 5 and cost each council £1,500 to take part.
The current situation presents a mixed picture as far as responsible procurement is concerned. There are a lot of positive outcomes, but there are some areas of concern that need to be addressed.
The participating councils prioritised areas where they believed regional collaboration was the best route to drive improvements with responsible procurement. Following recent endorsement from the RCCF Steering Group, this is now being formulated into an Action Plan that will resonate with participating councils and beyond and create the opportunities for the region to expedite learning and progress with this important issue.
There is a notable enthusiasm from participating councils to build on what has been achieved to date and maintain the momentum created since the start of this project. Three work streams have been identified that offer the best chance of allowing the RCCF to meet its objective with regards to sustainable/responsible procurement and the wider climate change agenda. These are:
– Developing local economies
– Collaborative working with common contractors
– Knowledge sharing and community of practice
If you would like to be kept informed on the work of the RCCF in this area, or would like to discuss this subject with EELGA, please contact Grace.Shaughnessy@EELGA.GOV.UK