During January, February and March 2024 nine short sessions were held, with almost 300 representatives attending from across the Scottish public sector.
These sessions comprised:

1. INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT - Introduction to the role of procurement in addressing economic, environmental and social challenges – and key enabling mechanisms.
2. USING PROCUREMENT TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY - Using procurement to support the transition to Net Zero and address environment and climate related supply chain risks.
3. FAIR AND INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT - Fair and inclusive procurement - Equality, Fair Work and Community Benefits; the mutually reinforcing approach to equality, fair work, and jobs, skills and training.

See here for this and other past and current work in Scotland.

The inaugural ELEVATE Procurement Conference was held in Jamaica, 23-25 April 2024.  The event was hosted by the Office of Public Procurement Policy (OPPP) under the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Jamaica’s Public Sector single point of advice on procurement policy implementation.

The purpose of the event was to raise the standard of public procurement performance.  The conference provided a forum for local and regional stakeholders, such as procurement oversight institutions, suppliers and international financing institutions, to share knowledge and discuss innovation.
 
Barbara Morton gave a presentation on ‘Implementing Sustainable Procurement Policy’ as part of a Panel Session on Sustainable Procurement. See here for more details.

Working as an associate of Merrill Solutions Ltd, Barbara Morton developed and co-delivered a Sustainable Public Procurement one-week training programme for officials from government procurement and project implementation units.  The training was hosted by GIMPA – Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and delivered in Accra in March 2024.  This combined face-to-face training with a ‘training-of-trainers’ package for staff from GIMPA, the World Bank and academics from the region.
​See here for more details.

​The purchase of goods, services and works can account for more than 70% of a public body’s overall greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland. These are referred to as ‘indirect scope 3 emissions’. Targeting action to reduce these emissions could result in significant emissions reduction across public bodies.

There are many challenges for public bodies in measuring, comparing and reporting indirect scope 3 emissions. The goal of this research, undertaken in 2023, was to provide evidence for practical approaches and tools that public bodies can use to better understand and thereby reduce their indirect scope 3 emissions.

SPL's Philip Duddell led the project, with support from colleagues at Aether Limited.
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The project included interviews and surveys of 72 public bodies, 67 suppliers to the Scottish public sector and the review of 75 supply chain emission and related tools and methodologies. The research report, with recommendations, was published in December 2023. See here.​