Sustainable procurement can be defined as:

“using procurement to support wider social,
economic and environmental objectives,
in ways that offer real long-term benefits”

Sir Neville Smith, Chairman, Sustainable Procurement Task Force

Every year the public sector comes under increasing pressure to ensure that future procurements address the Sustainability agenda.

Environmental considerations have been centre stage for many years; however, there are other factors to be considered such as Equality, SMEs, Fair and Ethical Trade, Human Rights and Third Sector Organisations.

This seminar examines the key areas of Sustainability and offers a range of measures through which it can be addressed.

Sustainability permeates every area of public sector procurement, from small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to fair and ethical trade, and from apprenticeships and skills to the voluntary and community sector.

The big questions, however, are how, when and why you address Sustainability in your day-to-day contracting and what needs to be undertaken to ensure you remain compliant with the EU Directives and the UK Regulations.

This seminar will address the various areas that the Government has identified as key requisites in achieving Sustainability.

It will review a range of topics from EU procurement markets to environmental and social considerations, and from regeneration to equality, identifying areas of EU Case Law which are designed to enable procurement officers to consider these factors.