<![CDATA[Sustainable Procurement Limited - SPL Blog]]>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:26:46 +0100Weebly<![CDATA[CITY OF GREATER GEELONG - E-LEARNING]]>Mon, 31 Jan 2022 12:21:06 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/city-of-greater-geelong-e-learningProcurement for Innovation success:
Having worked with the great people at the City of Greater Geelong, in particular Tina Perfrement, for some years it is great to see the results of the Recreational Bridges project in the context of everything being done in Geelong and the region.
The development of 5 e-learning modules by SPL to support practical implementation of Procurement for Innovation has attracted interest from far and wide - if you are interested in learning how Geelong successfully brought together a consortium of suppliers and experts to deliver a low carbon innovative solution Tina is happy to explain. Alternatively, contact Barbara Morton or Philip Duddell at SPL.
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]]><![CDATA[AGE DEFYING BRIDGES - AND LOW CARBON!]]>Fri, 12 Nov 2021 11:00:11 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/age-defying-bridges-and-low-carbonGreat work by Cleantech Innovation Geelong and partners.

SPL are delighted to have supported this fantastic Procurement for Innovation project for a few years. It shows what a refreshing approach to procurement can achieve: enabling collaboration across research, industry, public sector and others, capturing and enhancing skills in the market as well as significant life cycle reductions in carbon.

'The bridges are made from a world-first geopolymer designed to be maintenance-free for at least 100 years. The new geopolymer is extremely long-lasting and uses up to 80 per cent less greenhouse gases in production than concrete. The concept for the bridges came out of a ‘procurement for innovation’ process, inviting companies to come up with a solution to an unmet need – in this case the costly maintenance and waste problem associated with traditional bridges'.

​See here for more details.

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]]><![CDATA[Sustainable Procurement has ‘vital role’ in tackling the climate and nature crises]]>Mon, 08 Nov 2021 14:37:44 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/sustainable-procurement-has-vital-role-in-tackling-the-climate-and-nature-crisesAs the Scottish Government highlighted in its blog on 8th November 'Public procurement has a vital role to play in the transition to net zero and a nature-rich future'.
Read how, for example, NatureScot uses sustainable procurement to support plans for 'NatureScot to be a Net Zero organisation by 2035; a leader in reducing our own emission using innovation and new technology'.
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]]><![CDATA[LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT TOOLKIT]]>Fri, 05 Nov 2021 17:04:45 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/local-government-sustainable-procurement-toolkit
Hot off the press ....
The Local Government Association 'Sustainable Procurement: Delivering local economic, social and environmental priorities', toolkit has just been published.
SPL was delighted to develop this for Local Government following extensive consultation with many Councils and other interested stakeholders. 
Procurement has enormous power to deliver decarbonisation, social value and whole life value for money; critical objectives given the climate emergency and the need for sustainable economic and social improvement.
​Watch out for communications from LGA at COP26 and elsewhere.  
Access the Toolkit here.
]]><![CDATA[UK CLIMATE CHANGE RISK - HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE]]>Fri, 25 Jun 2021 10:06:29 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/uk-climate-change-risk-health-and-social-care
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The latest assessment of the impacts of climate change on the health and social care sector in the UK have been published. 
This emphasises the risks to infrastructure and public health with unequal distribution of risks due to health inequalities - arising from higher temperatures, flooding, extreme weather, indoor and outdoor air quality, vector borne disease, water quality and supply interruptions.
​See the report here. 
]]><![CDATA[CITY OF GREATER GEELONG - AGE-DEFYING BRIDGES]]>Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:23:26 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/city-of-greater-geelong-age-defying-bridgesAs published previously the City of Greater Geelong in 2017 presented a challenge to manufacturers - to design and build a 100 year maintenance free pedestrian bridge.
SPL has supported Geelong since then on engaging with the market and developing appropriate tender specifications. 
A short video has now been published by the City describing the Cowie's Creek bridge, which utilises waste by-products and results in a bridge which has a carbon footprint 30-80% lower than conventional concrete. 
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]]><![CDATA[The Future of ICT: circular solutions for a post-Covid world]]>Thu, 18 Mar 2021 15:39:01 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/the-future-of-ict-circular-solutions-for-a-post-covid-worldPicture
On the 18th March 2021 SPL co-hosted, with Mervyn Jones of Sustainable Global Resources, Zero Waste Scotland and BITC a webinar considering the importance of making informed decisions regarding the procurement of ICT devices. This includes: do you really need to buy/ can you refresh and update instead, with a great example from Glasgow Kelvin College of the economic and environmental savings made. The session was very well attended with some good questions and excellent examples also from the City of Malmo, Re-tek and Rijkswaterstaat.
]]><![CDATA[LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION]]>Wed, 03 Mar 2021 14:22:37 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/local-government-association
SPL is working with the Local Government Association on developing a toolkit to help Councils address the Climate Emergency, support the transition to a Circular Economy and enable social value through commissioning, procurement and contract management.
This has involved consultation with many Councils and other bodies through national and regional networks and directly. It is also been presented at the Local Government Procurement Expo on 10th March 2021.
]]><![CDATA[CLIMATE LITERACY FOR PROCURERS]]>Wed, 03 Mar 2021 14:08:26 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/climate-literacy-for-procurers
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SPL is delighted to have worked with Scottish Government and public sector partners (APUC, NHSS, Scotland Excel and others) to develop the Climate Literacy for Procurers e-learning module.
The eLearning comprises of 3 modules: The Climate Challenge; Responding to the Challenge; and Taking Action.
It is one of the outputs from the Climate and Procurement Forum, People and Capability workstream and helps buyers understand their role in helping to address the Climate Emergency.
​See the Scottish Government blog here.
This represents some of the work we are doing on supporting commissioners and buyers mobilise the power of procurement to make meaningful inroads into Climate goals.
]]><![CDATA[SOCIAL MOBILITY AND GREEN SKILLS]]>Fri, 15 Jan 2021 12:52:48 GMThttps://sustainableprocurement.eu.com/spl_blog/social-mobility-and-green-skillsDrax has announced a target to boost social mobility for one million people by 2025, as part of its Opportunity Action Plan developed in partnership with the Social Mobility Pledge.
With the aim of improving skills, education, employability and opportunity this is an example of the transition to low carbon jobs and skills. As well as being essential to enable Net Zero targets to be met it provides a significant opportunity to offset jobs lost in the pandemic.
Procuring organisations have a significant role of course in enabling such opportunities, whether that is through the Social Value or Community Benefits agenda or a specific focus on Climate and Procurement. Collaboration within and between public and private sector buyers and suppliers is increasingly important if these opportunities are to be realised, including those from innovative solutions.  
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