City of Edinburgh Council procurement of major contracts, goods and services continues to support the city’s economic, environmental and social goals while saving millions, according to a new report.
The Sustainable Procurement Strategy Annual Report – 2021 provides an update on activities relating to contracts awarded in the last financial year, in particular regulated contracts (those with a value of more than £50,000 for goods and services and £2m for works). In 2020/21, the Council spent £719m with third party suppliers. Of the total core spend 41% was with local enterprises, compared to 39% last year and well above the national average of 28.5%.
The Council’s spending continues to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) too, with 50% of total core spend being with SMEs. While this is a slight reduction on 52% in 2019/20, it’s noted that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the Council’s purchasing activity. In addition, 65% of suppliers awarded a regulated contract during 2020/21 were SMEs. Procurement by the Council also champions Fair Work practices, with 79% of suppliers awarded contracts in 2020/21 stating they pay the Real Living Wage, up on 70% in 2019/20.
Contracts awarded during the last year are estimated to have secured provisional procurement savings of around £23m.
Councillor Rob Munn, Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee, said:
While the last year and a half has been extremely challenging for the Council, as a whole, our Commercial and Procurement team has worked extremely hard to aid our response to the pandemic, while supporting wider environmental, economic and social objectives and making significant savings in the process through prudent purchasing.
Now, as we look to make a green recovery from the pandemic, we will continue to place sustainability at the centre of our procurement activities, furthering our net zero ambitions through focused use of our considerable purchasing power and greater collaboration with our suppliers and other key partners.
Councillor Joan Griffiths, Vice Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee, added:
This report demonstrates the importance of the Sustainable Procurement Strategy to many of the Council’s key policies, whether that’s through supporting the local economy, championing fair work practices and workplace representation through trade unions, or focusing on sustainability through contract procurement.
It also identifies areas for improvement which, as we emerge from the pandemic, will be a priority for the Council moving forward.
The impact of COVID-19 is recognised in the report, in posing new and unexpected challenges to the Council and its suppliers and significantly affecting the global economy. The Council’s Commercial and Procurement
Services also played a key role in the response to the crisis, overseeing the sourcing and distribution of the personal protective equipment (PPE) the Council needed during the height of the pandemic. Almost 11m items of PPE were distributed by the end of the 2020/21 financial year and over £520k of savings secured through a central purchasing approach.
The Finance and Resources Committee will consider the report on Thursday (12 August) and will be asked to approve an amendment to the Strategy to update references to Edinburgh being a ‘carbon-neutral city’ by 2030 to a ‘net zero carbon’ city by 2030, to reflect wider Council strategies. If approved, the annual report will be reported to the Scottish Government.
Read the full report, Sustainable Procurement Strategy Annual Report – 2021, on the Council website. You can also watch Finance and Resources Committee live via webcast from 10am on Thursday, 12 August.