Sustainability
Sustainable Procurement is a process whereby organisations meet their need for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.
Trust policy comprises three key work streams, each of which has a definition:
Environment - Procurement policies that encourage effective use of resources and minimise impact on the environment
Local community - Support local enterprise and encourage an inclusive supplier base that benefits both the health economy and the wider community
Fair trade - Procurement of goods and services from sources that can demonstrate a commitment to fair trade
The overall objective is to achieve sustainable procurement policy framework that is:
• Capable of adaptation to Trust-specific circumstances
• Inherent within Trust culture with Executive sponsorship
• Engaged with key stakeholders capable of assisting in strategy delivery
• Economically viable - on a total cost basis - with financial and non-financial measures - the sustainability dividend needs to be measurable against commonly-agreed criteria
• Designed to stimulate and support innovation which provides sustainable solutions
Each work stream will have a menu of activities representing good sustainable procurement practice that should be considered for adoption, contributing to the regional commitment to sustainable procurement whilst ensuring a focus on local implementation and delivery.