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New Scottish Procurement Policy Note: Public Procurement – taking account of climate and circular economy considerations: SPPN 3/2022

The Scottish Government has published a new Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2022, to replace the SPPN 1/2021 and reflects additional sources of help and support which have been developed to enable public procurement authorities to use procurement to address the climate emergency.

Key points

  • The global climate emergency is a strategic national priority and forms a central tenet of a green recovery.
  • As part of the national endeavour to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, the Scottish Government Programme for Government commits to action on the climate impact of significant annual public procurement spend.
  • Public bodies should demonstrate in their organisational procurement strategies how they will prioritise and take account of climate and circular economy in their procurement activity. They should report ongoing progress against these commitments in their annual procurement reports. This should demonstrate how they are using procurement to support Scotland’s response to the global climate emergency.
  • Regulations introduced in November 2020 require Scottish public bodies to report in their Public Bodies Climate Change Duties (PBCCD) Annual Reports, where applicable, “targets for reducing indirect emissions of greenhouse gases” with effect from end of March 2022.
  • Initially a mixture of data and narrative reporting in PBCCD Annual Reports is encouraged, with an increasing emphasis on data over time, and with the opportunity to streamline reporting by using or signposting content in annual procurement reports for PBCCD Annual Reports.
  • The Scottish Government’s Sustainable Procurement Tools are available to all public bodies and include indicators and regularly refreshed guidance to support Scottish public sector buyers to consider and act on a number of climate change considerations.
  • While this SPPN focusses on public procurement, engaged and enabling local leadership and cross-functional working will be required to align corporate commitments and timelines to climate change commitments.
  • Procurement professionals are encouraged to take a staged approach to asking for climate information from bidders at the selection stage of a procurement. Guidance and Standardised Statements have been developed to assist, in relation to the Environmental Management section of the Single Procurement Document.
  • The Climate and Procurement Forum and associated work streams aim to identify and commission targeted activities that will help influence and empower buyers, suppliers and key stakeholders communities.

SPPN 3/2022 can be read in full on the Scottish Government website. This policy note replaces SPPN 1/2022.

Support from the Supplier Development Programme

The Supplier Development Programme has issued previous communication regarding SPPNs which can be viewed on the www.sdpscotland.co.uk website.

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