We have a responsibility to consider the protection of the natural world during the procurement process. As such we consider the long- and short-term environmental impacts of their requirements for goods, services, utilities and works when making decisions. This can refer to examining the whole-life cost of an item or the entire production process of a work or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0Sustainable Procurement Duty<\/a>\u00a0has been developed to introduce the concept of sustainable public procurement in Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sustainable public procurement aims to make the best use of public money, helping us to achieve our overarching purpose and strategic objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0sustainable procurement duty<\/a>, outlined in Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, aligns with our purpose to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is underpinned by the\u00a0National Performance Framework<\/a>\u00a0and Scotland’s Economic Strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0sustainable procurement duty<\/a>\u00a0requires that before a contracting authority buys anything, it must think about how it can improve the social, environmental and economic wellbeing of the area in which it operates, with a particular focus on\u00a0reducing inequality<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also requires a contracting authority to consider how its procurement processes can\u00a0facilitate the involvement of SMEs, third sector bodies and supported businesses<\/a>, and how public procurement can be used to promote innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compliance with the sustainable procurement duty is the mechanism through which public procurement contributes to and tracks its contribution to our overarching purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each contracting authority must set out in its procurement strategy how it intends to comply with the duty, and must report annually on progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is further information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n