Bidding Tips - Environmental Considerations
Recent public procurements I’ve been involved in have had an increasing trend to put in specific questions about the Environmental Measures that bidders will put in place across the contract. A surprising amount of bidders I have worked with struggle with these questions, with little/no environmental measures in place and/or no way of recording the measures they have in place. If you are in this position, you are going to lose what could be crucial marks in deciding whether you win or lose a bid.
If you are currently bidding for public sector contracts, or are considering to in the future, you need to get your environmental measures and monitoring in place. The best way to do this is independent of a bid; think about what you are currently doing, how you can measure it, and what you can implement in the future. From this, develop an Environmental Management Plan/Strategy, which you can use as a reference point when bidding.
Quick win examples of measures you could be taking and/or commit to include:
Have a recycling policy, and measure (where possible) volumes of recycling
Renewable energy tariffs for premises
Renewable energy measures for premises, such as solar panels
Green travel plan, encouraging staff to use car-sharing, public transport, cycling, etc
Offsetting carbon emissions through a tree planting scheme
Switching to hybrid and/or electric vehicles
Using suppliers that source products sustainably.
Where possible, always set targets for the measures you are putting in place and think about how you can monitor and report on them. Ongoing monitoring and reporting will provide you with excellent evidence for bids, giving commissioners reassurance that you are doing what you say will.
Further to the above, if you are bidding on a public contract worth over £5m annually, you will need to evidence that you have a Carbon Reduction Plan. If you don’t have one (or don’t create one and submit it with the bid), you could be automatically excluded. See the link below for government guidance and a plan template.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1054374/PPN-0621-Taking-account-of-Carbon-Reduction-Plans-Jan22__1_.pdf