The scoring methodology, weightings and contract award criteria must be clearly defined in the procurement documents to ensure transparency of the process and a common understanding by all bidders of how tender responses will be evaluated and scored. They must be proportionate to the works, supplies or services that are the subject-matter of the contract.
Criteria must allow objective comparison of tenders and not discriminate against or favour potential contractors. There must be a clear methodology to evaluate responses.
As well as being involved in developing relevant requirements for a procurement, for example, approach to environmental management or water management, subject matter experts can provide valuable input when evaluating tender responses for such criteria.
An example of where procurement activity has contributed to efforts to limit negative environmental impact is provided below.
As a result of including a weighted climate emergency question as part of the tender evaluation process for Scotland’s Baby Box, the successful supplier committed to delivering a range of sustainable benefits in the delivery of the contract. Specific actions include:
• using material on the baby products which results in a reduced environment impact;
• use of knot fabrics (more sustainable than woven fabrics as it uses less water, is faster drying and does not require ironing);
• use of materials which meet the strict sustainability criteria: non-toxic; abundant; easily reproduced; rapidly renewable; low waste; recycled; recyclable or biodegradable;
• waste plain white cotton fabric from the manufacture of Baby Box clothing is recycled to make more fabric and the waste from the patterned fabrics is repurposed to make cleaning cloths minimising overall waste from the production process;
• the introduction of a recycling programme for cotton goods with a recycling company based in Central Scotland who pick up end-of-life textiles from participating laundries and sell on to the motoring /cleaning trade; and
• reducing packaging as far as practically possible across all product lines.
Regulation 19(4) of PC(S)R 2015 places a legal obligation on a public body to include relevant clauses in their contracts to ensure those they contract with comply with environmental, social and employment law obligations.
Regulation 57(2) of PC(S)R 2015 allows a public body to reject bids that do not comply with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law established by national law, collective agreements or by the international environmental, social and labour laws.
Regulation 69(5) of PC(S)R 2015 places a legal obligation on a public body to reject bids that have been found to be abnormally low because they do not comply with applicable obligations in environmental, social or labour law.
Where a bid appears to be abnormally low, a public body must require the bidder to explain its pricing. This can include an explanation of how the bid will maintain compliance with relevant environmental, social and employment laws such as employment, equality or health and safety legislation. The bid must be rejected if it is established that it is abnormally low because it does not comply with relevant environmental, social and employment law including collective agreements (regulation 69(5) of the PC(S)R 2015).
The Annex includes model wording that may be used for this purpose.
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