Procurement doesn't have to cost the earth

Public Health Wales is urging anyone in the public sector to download their new guide and start reducing costs and cutting carbon whenever they are sourcing goods or services. 

Procurement is currently expensive and damaging, costing the Welsh public sector approximately £7 billion each year, and 62 per cent of NHS Wales Carbon emissions coming from procurement. 

The new, free, e-guide has been created to make it easy and achievable for all public sector employees in Wales to ‘Be the Change’ and start making procurement more sustainable, reduce their impact on the environment and be more globally responsible.  

Eurgain Powell, Principal in Sustainable Development and Health, Public Health Wales, said: 

“All public bodies in Wales have a duty to work towards the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Think long term about what they buy and the whole product lifecycle, buy things which can be repaired or reused reducing harm, collaborate with others to share or to buy more efficiently, buy from local business and support and involve local places and people. 

“Sustainable procurement can mean considering not buying things at all, buying energy and resource efficient goods, ethical goods such as Fairtrade coffee, or locally sourced products and services which support local businesses. It can also support the delivery of organisational priorities and well-being objectives, and ultimately improve the economic, environmental, social, and cultural well-being of Wales.  

“The new guide will help anyone with responsibility for buying goods or services to think about what they need to buy and to change the process for the better enabling a reduction in our impact on the environment and climate change, and encourage sustainable behaviour in both their work and home life.” 

The guide contains an explanation of the issues and steps to take to make the procurement process less damaging to the planet with support and guidance on legislation, guidelines, useful links to other information, resources, organisations, examples, sources of advice and ideas to help those responsible to think through the procurement process and for taking practical actions. 

For example; sourcing Fairtrade items shows your commitment to make a real difference to farmers and workers, help support food security through fairer pay, and to being globally responsible. Fairtrade Fortnight (February 27th to March 12th 2023) encourages everyone to make the small simple switch to Fairtrade to support producers. 

‘Be the Change - Procurement that doesn’t cost the earth’ is a free, downloadable e-guide.