Details on exclusion grounds, for example, breach of any obligations in the fields of environmental, social or employment law can be found in the Procurement Journey.
It may not always be appropriate to assess biodiversity it this stage. For example, it could be appropriate where a tenderer may have responsibility for the production methods and place of origin of products supplied, or where an environmental management system is relevant.
Any selection criteria deemed relevant and proportionate to your procurement exercise must be tested through the Single Procurement Document (SPD). Guidance has been produced to encourage public bodies to include climate change selection criteria regarding environmental management measures.
An environmental management system (ISO14001 or equivalent) is likely to only be relevant in the procurement of some products or services. Its requirement should be proportionate according to the market and the scope of the requirement where evidence of systems and processes to manage resilience is required.
Where a public body decides that there may be a risk of exclusion grounds applying to a sub-contractor, it can choose to verify this at any stage in the procurement process. This can be an effective way to help ensure a robust approach is taken throughout the supply chain. A public body should only ask for verification of exclusion grounds from sub-contractors in circumstances where it is regarded as proportionate and necessary to do so. A full list of the exclusion grounds can be found in Annex B of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 statutory guidance.
Model clauses to allow for termination of a contract or framework in the case of breaches of social, environmental and employment law are available from SPPN 9/2016.
