Lutz Preuss Integrating sustainable development into public sector procurement: The case of local government buying in the UK Lutz Preuss School of Management Royal Holloway, University of London

The importance of local government The importance of local government economic role: annual expenditure £40 billion type of goods and services: social services, land use planning, waste disposal local democracy: wide variation in approaches to sustainability and procurement

Political drive Political drive UK government sustainability strategy: “embedding sustainable development considerations into spending and investment decisions” ODPM: National Procurement Strategy for Local Government DEFRA: Sustainable Procurement Task Force

Research questions Research questions What activities environmental and social aspects What solutions What limitations

Methodology Methodology pilot studies benchmarking (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Regional Centres of Procurement Excellence; Improvement and Development Agency) study of leading authorities

Environment Environment office stationery (paper, printer cartridges) energy savings (lighting, computers) transportation: alternative fuels timber: FSC certification cleaning materials (detergents) greener energy

Environment Environment indirect initiatives disseminate environment-related information certification to ISO or EMAS = range of activities: some easy option but increasingly more challenging ones cost implications

Social aspects Social aspects support for local companies, especially SMEs (e.g. community benefit clauses) voluntary sector organisations and social enterprises = increasing range of contractors less activity than on environment

Operational reality Cost implications: more efforts on reducing expenditure than on promoting sustainability Strategic direction: gaps in data collection, monitoring, evaluation; environmental risk assessment differences in political emphasis

Conclusions Range of activities on environmental and social aspects of buying Drivers: legislation and cost savings sustainability crowded out by efficiency agenda Local democracy matters