The NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NHSSP) recognises the important role that its Procurement Services can play in supporting the Welsh Assembly and UK Government’s agenda in respect of sustainable Procurement.

NHSSP – Procurement Services recognises that it has an impact both directly and indirectly on the Environment. We are therefore in a position to influence these impacts by working with the NHS in Wales to improve outcomes by: reducing waste; increasing levels of recycling; reducing CO₂ emissions by challenging current practices within the NHS and influencing our suppliers to help support this important agenda.

We have developed our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy which outlines our aims in twelve key areas:

In support of our CSR policy we have specific policies for Transport and Packaging that reflect the importance of these areas within our business.

NHSSP – Procurement Services is accredited to ISO14001 across parts of its operations and significant improvements have already been made to the impact we have on the environment. To enhance this we are working on the development of our carbon footprint so that key areas of improvement can be identified and targeted improvements made. Our Carbon footprint will focus only on the direct impact that our service is having on the Environment. For more detail on our Carbon footprint click here.

We recognise that the supply chains we establish through our procurement processes also have an impact on the environment and this was evidenced in the Carbon Footprint assessment that was undertaken for the NHS in England. This demonstrated that of the 18 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions from the NHS in England, 11 million tonnes (almost 60%) could be attributed to supply chain activities. This has resulted in the publication in England of Saving Carbon, Improving Health which included a key action for NHS Procurement to work in partnership with suppliers to improve sustainable and low carbon procurement.

NHSSP – Procurement Services has been is working very closely with NHS procurement colleagues across the UK on a pilot project aimed at targeting the NHS’ key suppliers with a view to them disclosing their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. This project was progressed in conjunction with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) as a part of their Public Procurement Programme. This was a collaborative pan Public Sector UK approach that saw a total of 262 suppliers disclose during 2010 across a range of Sectors. For the 262 organisations that responded, a total annual saving of £221 million has been achieved as a result of carbon reduction initiatives over the last three years with a further £750 million expected. These Organisations quoted 32 MtCO2e averted with a further 32 MtCO2e reduction expected

In Wales the Welsh Assembly Government is consulting on its Climate Change Strategy and this is likely to see an emphasis on the role that Procurement can play in supporting the achievement of targets in this area.

Sustainable Procurement is a key feature for NHSSP - Procurement Services. We have developed a sustainable risk assessment (SRA) tool and all appropriate staff have been trained in its use and application. All contracts valued at £25K or more are subjected to a review against the SRA, the key themes are identified through the contract planning process and actions agreed to address these areas as appropriate. For more information on some of our work in this area click here.

Many of our tendering processes are supported by stakeholder groups. These groups are made up of relevant professionals drawn from the NHS in Wales to provide their advice and professional input into our procurement processes. Our staff feed into these groups on the key sustainability issues to be addressed and discuss with them how these might be taken forward.

NHSSP – Procurement Services meets regularly with key suppliers to discuss forthcoming contracting activity as well as changes to practices and approaches and our staff will include the sustainability issues into these discussions.

Useful Links

NHSSP – Procurement Services is represented on the British Medical Associations Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group which was established by the Department of Health following a request by the BMA to the NHS to develop a fair and ethical purchasing policy for medical supplies. Each of the Contracting Authorities from the devolved administrations is represented on this Group along with ABHI, Medical Professional Bodies, NGOs, NHS Supply Chain and the former NHS PASA.

In conjunction with the former NHS PASA the Group has developed an Ethical Procurement for Health: Guidance and toolkit. This has been developed in partnership with the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and aims to build awareness, understanding of labour standards in supply chains among procurers, with the longer term aim that labour standards concerns are identified early and addressed proactively and constructively.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) provides a lot of useful information on Sustainable Procurement Providing Sustainability and Guidance on Quick Wins. The Centre for Evidence Based Procurement (CEP) has developed an Energy Performance Assessment Tool and Protocol. This tool will enable organisation to identify annual and whole life energy costs for any electronic equipment.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (Public Procurement Programme) is a Pan Public Sector Procurement wide approach to carbon reduction and more information is available by following this link.

WEEE Regulations – Guidance and information on the update produced in January 2009.

Open Doors Charter this is the Welsh Assembly Government’s SME friendly charter which sets out the Public Sectors aims in respect of working with Small Medium Enterprises.

If you require any further information, please contact June Scott on 029 20 315492

Title	Last Updated	Size	Type
Opening_Doors_Charter_(English_&_Welsh)	27/11/2009	(882k)
Value Wales' FAQs English Version	07/12/2009	(232k)