Sustainable Procurement Tools

Overview

Description and scope

This guidance is related to the procurement of goods, services, or works where biosecurity is relevant. Biosecurity is protection from biological risks which could affect human, animal, and plant health or the wider environment. There are numerous definitions of biosecurity available for example:

The plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028) refers to biosecurity as:

“a set of precautions that aim to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms. These include non-native pests, such as insects, and disease-causing organisms called pathogens, such as some viruses, bacteria, and fungi. These pests and pathogens threaten the health of our plants and trees the same way such types of organisms threaten the health of humans and animals.

The strategy recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent.  

This guidance is aimed at:

• Ensuring biosecurity risks relating to procurement are managed to protect the rural economy, environment, and human health.

Depending on the individual procurement, this could be for example:

  • look for plant nurseries that have Plant Healthy certificates and avoid using plants that may become invasive.
  • imported animal products, plants or wood packaging have relevant health certificates.
  • contractors follow biosecurity procedures when visiting farms, woodlands or other sensitive areas.
  • major infrastructure projects should have biosecurity plans to mitigate risks of accidentally bringing in unwanted pests, disease and invasive species.
  • preventing the introduction of plant health pests and pathogens
  • protecting the natural environment and associated recreational activities.
  • safeguarding our forests which sequester carbon to reduced climate change impacts.
  • preventing introduction of harmful invasive non-native species

It provides relevant procurement guidance, aligned with the Procurement Journey, and includes example clauses in the Annex.

Supporting the Sustainable Procurement Tools

This guidance is part of a series of guides which support the sustainable procurement duty tools to help public sector organisations embed sustainability into their procurement processes. Biosecurity is inextricably linked with biodiversity, and biosecurity is increasingly recognised as an important tool in the fight against climate change. Separate guidance is available on the following topics, which should also be considered alongside biosecurity, where relevant. For example:

Where relevant, Construction Policy Note (CPN) 1/2023 should also be considered. This note draws attention to the publication of a new chapter (chapter 18) within the Client Guide to Construction Projects which provides an overview of the client’s role in planning for sustainability in construction projects, particularly during the project initiation phase. This should include the early consideration of biosecurity where this is relevant to the project.

Users of this guidance are encouraged to complete sustainable procurement e-learning including the Climate Literacy module, available from the Sustainable Procurement Tools portal.

The Sustainability Test is a self-assessment tool designed to help buyers embed relevant and proportionate sustainability requirements consistently in the development of contracts and frameworks. The Sustainability Test includes the following question:

 

Description of risk or opportunity

  • Could the goods, services or works to be procured result in negative impacts on biosecurity at any stage in the life cycle (either in Scotland, UK or overseas)? For example:
    • Are there concerns regarding food safety, transmission of infectious diseases in crops and livestock, quarantined pests, invasive alien species, and living modified organisms?
    • Are there opportunities to promote biosecurity during the performance of the contract? For example, by promoting the highest standard of animal welfare, or minimising water, noise or light pollution and managing the risk of harm to plants or wildlife such as pollinating insects, native birds, and bats.

Introduction

Definitions of biosecurity can be found in a variety of sectors such as animal health, food and agriculture, and forestry, etc. There is a level of commonality in the overall aims and objectives of biosecurity across sectors - Biosecurity is a set of management practices that aim to prevent and reduce the risk of introducing and spreading organisms harmful to human, animal and plant health and the wider environment.

Biosecurity can minimise negative impacts on biodiversity and help to protect the environment. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has identified five direct drivers of biodiversity loss: and two indirect drivers:

  • changes in land and sea use

Further information on the impacts of INNS on biodiversity is available from the GB Non-native Species Secretariat (NNSS) website. Please also see related guidance on Biodiversity available on the Sustainable Procurement Tools.

Examples

The categories of procurement that can have both a positive and negative impact on biosecurity range from farm visits to catering, from environmental surveys to construction and from importing goods to growing plants and grounds maintenance.  There are many opportunities to make improvements that will need to be identified and considered at the design stage of the procurement.

This may include decisions regarding protection measures needed (e.g., against invasive species) when undertaking infrastructure or construction projects as well as the sourcing of wood products (which may harbour pests), or when undertaking a grounds maintenance service or a contract with a gardening element and the sourcing of plants (which might be invasive) and landscaping materials (which might be carrying hitchhikers such as flatworms, ants, and hornets).

As well as the importation or spreading of diseases onto farms affecting animals (e.g., African swine fever, or bovine tuberculosis, salmonella or avian influenza) it may include the impact of invasive species, pests and diseases on crops, trees and timber, plants and native wildlife, as well as potential impacts on human health. This may include the traceability of foodstuffs produced within the UK or abroad, animal management and bio-secure transportation practices (transport is an easy way to spread disease quickly between farms), wood packaging material can be a pathway for entry of wood-boring invasive insects, and the responsible use of pesticides.

Policies, systems, and controls should be designed in a way to help follow bio-secure practices. Where relevant a comprehensive biosecurity programme might include, for example:

  • Responsibly sourcing plants and trees to minimise the risk of pests and pathogens.
  • Ensuring awareness of key threats associated with a particular product.
  • Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) planning is a good way to manage a range of risks from food safety to marine INNS.
  • water testing, treatment, and filtration protocols
  • pest management plan to control birds, rodents, and insects.
  • An effective disinfection process with downtime
  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and training programme for staff to develop a culture of biosecurity and promote accountability for biosecurity.
  • Suitable waste management, such as deep landfill, incineration or autoclaving.
  • Responsive procedures to notify relevant authorities upon suspicion or confirmation of a harmful organism, such as an animal, plant, human or invasive non-native species threat, to allow control and containment measures to be implemented quickly.

The above examples are not in order of priority. This is by no means an exhaustive list and should not be treated as such. Other factors may be relevant depending on the individual procurement.

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