Sustainable Procurement Tools

Description and Scope

This guidance relates to the procurement of products, services, or works where there are opportunities to implement employment, skills and training (EST) outcomes and deliver social impact.

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

Sustainable Procurement Tools

This guidance is part of a series of guides which support the sustainable procurement duty tools to help public bodies embed sustainability into their procurement processes. This guidance should be considered alongside the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014: Statutory Guidance.

Any employment, skills and training achieved through public procurement will aim to promote equality and reduce inequality. For example, a supplier that is invested in its workforce could create a more diverse and inclusive workplace by enabling parents, people with caring responsibilities, employees with disabilities or people with health conditions, to enter, sustain and progress in work by providing:

• Payment of at least the real living wage
• Support for women returning to work after a career break
• part-time / flexible working hours to enable uptake of childcare provision
• Work from home opportunities reducing reliance on transport provision
• Providing training at times that suit, or fit around current jobs or caring responsibilities                                                                                      

*Reliability and affordability of transport and childcare is seen as a barrier for parents to access and sustain work within the labour market (source – page 21 of the No One Left Behind Employability Strategic Plan 2024-2027)

Separate guidance is available on the following topics which should be considered alongside one another:

• Equality
• Fair Work First
• SMEs, social enterprises, supported businesses and third sector

Users of this guidance are encouraged to complete the Introduction to Sustainable Public Procurement and Fair Work First in Procurement e-learning modules, available from the Sustainable Procurement Tools website.

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 (Suggested revised questions)

Is there scope to:

• generate employment, skills and training opportunities and target these for priority groups?
• create work placements, apprenticeships or internships for priority groups?
• develop trade skills, green skills*? or upskill suppliers’ existing workforce?

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

• including relevant community benefit requirements in the contract to promote equality and to reduce inequality by targeting recruitment and training at particular priority groups. For example, helping women, ethnic minorities and people with a disability enter and progress in the labour market
• providing quality employment through the application of Fair Work First, including no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts, mandating payment of at least the real Living Wage and supporting progression routes for employees
• developing the supply chain by asking bidders to confirm how subcontracting opportunities will be facilitated for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) third sector bodies and supported businesses

• working with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to set appropriate skills and training requirements in construction-related contracts

Knowledge Checklist

•   Complete appropriate e-learning: Introduction to Sustainable Public Procurement and Fair Work First in Procurement
•   Consult related procurement guidance

 

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