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Annex – example procurement clauses and KPIs

The clauses within the Annex should be read in conjunction with the Commissioning and Pre-procurement guidance and Procurement guidance.

Example procurement clauses – pre-contract notification

 

Water production

‘The Contracting Authority has included obligations within the specification and contract conditions relating to embodied water intensity, which are relevant to the products/services to be delivered.’

‘In all of our development work, our aim is to minimise any adverse impacts that construction has on the environment and society.  We seek this through the design process, materials selection, construction techniques, and operational methods.  All organisations appointed to work on our behalf are required to work in accordance with these principles. Specific information on our sustainability policy is set out in [insert reference to the relevant document on this topic], to which all consultants and contractors appointed on our projects are expected to conform.’

'The Contractor will be required to minimise the environmental impacts of products supplied, including the energy and carbon intensity of their production, where practicable.'

‘A requirement of this contract is that all products offered have been assessed in terms of embodied water and offer the lowest values whilst meeting functional performance standards.’

 

Water consumption

‘The Contracting Authority has included obligations within the specification and contract conditions relating to water efficiency, which are relevant to the products/services to be delivered.’

‘The Contract/Framework Agreement supports the Scottish Government's National Performance Framework, and the National Outcomes which articulate the Purpose to focus on creating a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through increased wellbeing, and sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This Contract/Framework supports the following National Outcomes, and contractors are expected to support the authority’s aim to achieve these.' [Insert relevant National Outcomes - see above]

‘A requirement of this contract is that all products supplied meet the mandatory level of the Government Buying Standard (GBS) for [insert product standard] for water efficiency.’

‘A requirement of this contract is that our Facilities Manager and their maintenance teams play a proactive role in helping us to reduce potable water use and minimise the carbon emissions from the supply of hot water.’

 

Example procurement clauses – Supplier selection

 

Water production

'Please describe your approach to environmental sustainability, including details of any specific steps taken in the design and manufacture of services to reduce embodied water and any other relevant detrimental environmental impacts.'

'Please describe how you manage your environmental impacts detailing any environmental good practice systems, including ISO 14001, or EMAS, which form part of your business practice.'

To assess the capability of suppliers in minimising both energy and resource use and associated carbon emissions the following could be asked:

  1. Detail your understanding, experience and achievements in cost-effectively providing [insert service] services that minimise the use of significantly high embodied water materials and reduce the whole life costs of the contract delivery.
  2. Detail your understanding, experience and achievements in minimising the overall embodied water for a similar project.

An ideal response would provide the following:

  1. Evidence of having achieved reduced embodied water for clients using alternative materials or production methods.
  2. Evidence of providing clients with embodied water data with analysis and recommendations for changes / adaptations to reduce embodied water levels in a cost-effective way (where relevant and practical)

 

Water consumption

‘Please describe your approach to environmental sustainability, including details of any specific steps taken in the design and manufacture of services to increase water efficiency and reduce any detrimental environmental impacts.'

‘Please describe how you manage your environmental impacts detailing any environmental good practice systems, including ISO 14001, or EMAS, or equivalent which form part of your business practice.'

‘Please provide a copy of your Environmental Policy and highlight how it relates to the reduction of water consumption in your products and/or services.’

For a service contract, to assess the capability of suppliers in minimising both energy and resource use and associated carbon emissions the following could be asked:

  1. Detail your understanding, experience and achievements in cost-effectively providing [insert service] services that minimise the use of water and resources and reduce the whole life costs of the contract delivery.
  2. Detail your understanding, experience and achievements in communicating the importance of water efficiency to service users and catalysing changes in behaviour.
  3. Detail your understanding and experience in providing water performance data to clients, providing analysis and advice for improvements to increase water efficiency.

An ideal response would provide the following:

  1. Evidence of having achieved reduced water consumption for clients using effective equipment specification, procurement and management, behavioural change and appropriate replacement of systems and infrastructure.
  2. Evidence of providing methods of awareness-raising amongst service users either through training programmes or provision of key user guidance with particular focus on efficient water use.
  3. Evidence of providing clients with water consumption data with analysis and recommendations for changes/ adaptations to improve water efficiency in a cost-effective way.

 

Example procurement clauses – Specification

In a construction specification the buyer could include a requirement to:

‘Identify the [5-10] most significant and cost-effective opportunities to reduce the embodied water associated with the project (e.g. through leaner design, designing out waste, reusing materials, and selecting materials with lower embodied water over the project life cycle), quantify the savings made through individual design changes, and report actions and outcomes.’

To highlight the technical requirement to meet sustainability criteria for embodied water:

‘All materials offered must demonstrate that embodied water has been considered and reduced wherever possible.’

‘Please provide a copy of your Environmental Policy and highlight how it relates to the reduction of embodied water in your products and/or services.’

To highlight the technical requirement to meet sustainability criteria for water consumption:

‘All Equipment supplied must achieve the required criteria to meet the highest water efficiency level of max X [insert max level for product] or less. Evidence of registration under the Water Label Scheme will be accepted or alternatively production of independently verified equivalent tests, if their equivalence is accepted by the competent body assessing the product performance.’

 

Example procurement clauses – Evaluation and Award

‘Please provide a draft Resource Management Plan for the service including measurable targets for the reduction of water use over the period of the contract.'

In terms of a sustainable managed service the following could be requested:

‘As part of our commitment to reducing environmental impacts, we require that all of our buildings use water as efficiently as possible. Our targets for water use in [insert building type / our portfolio] are to achieve average annual use of [insert target, e.g. X m3 per m2 Net Rentable Area per year, X m3 per FTE / resident / visitor / person per year, or X litres per person per day] by [insert date] and/or an X% reduction in use relative to 20xx].

Please describe your suggested methodology, including timeline, milestones, outcomes and responsibilities for developing an appropriate service Resource Management Plan which aims to:

1. Help us achieve our target for reducing whole life costs and water consumption resulting from [insert service] services; and

2. Providing data/ information to support claims that whole life cost and resource savings have been made’.

 

Example Procurement Clauses and KPIs - Contract and Supplier Management

It may be appropriate to establish a baseline of water and related carbon emissions within [insert] months / years of commencement of the contract (for example within 6-12 months of start of the contract).

Specific requirements may include:

'Provide total of carbon emissions that arise from water consumption in the delivery of the service at the end of each 12-month period from commencement of the contract, showing changes and measures undertaken and planned to reduce emissions further, where practical.'

Depending on the subject matter of the contract, the following may also be relevant:

  • the use of metering to measure reductions of water use or the incentive of profit sharing of water cost savings over the contract term.
  • the provision of evidence of the origin of materials or independent verification of process methods.

 

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