LGP Sustainable Choice Newsletter
June 2018

" Incorporate economic, environmental and social considerations in your procurement process."

Sustainable Procurement Forums

The last Sustainable Choice forum for 2018 is coming up in Byron Bay on Wednesday 27 June. It's not too late to take the opportunity to attend.

The forum is a great opportunity to learn more about sustainable procurement, network with other councils, meet sustainable suppliers and share ideas, including case studies and presentations.

There will be case studies and presentations on some interesting topics including Electric Vehicles, China's National Sword Policy, Recycled Glass in Civil Construction and Implementation of Sustainable Procurement.

There will also be a number of suppliers at the forums to showcase technology and innovation in sustainable products.

Our Sustainable Procurement Forums recently held in Manly (2nd May) and Shellharbour (8th May) were very successful and well received by those who attended.

Below is some of the feedback we received from participants:

“A well organised event.”
“Excellent forum, congratulations.”
“Interesting topics”
“Very useful. All presentations were helpful, and some were especially relevant. The ¾ day length was good, and the venue was lovely.”
“Thank you for organising this, I would love to attend similar events on a regular basis.”

For further information and to register for the Byron Bay forum click here.

AS ISO 20400:2018

Australia Adopts ISO 20400 on Sustainable Procurement!

On 17th May Australia officially adopted ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement - Guidance as a national standard. This was an identical adoption, meaning that there have been no changes to the content in the global standard as published in April 2017.

Sustainable Choice has developed a comprehensive ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement training package. The package includes interactive, hands on one-day training courses for both management and operational staff in understanding and integrating sustainability into the procurement process, based on the ISO 20400:2017 standard.

To find out more you can watch a video and read the brochure.

The training is available to all councils with Sustainable Choice members eligible for a discounted fee.

Contact us for further information and to book a session.

Recycling and the Role of Procurement

The recent strengthening of China’s National Sword Policy, which places restrictions on the importation of recycled materials, is starting to have a big effect on the future of Australia’s recycling programs.

Recycling programs in Australia are set to become uneconomical due to significant increases in handling costs for recyclable materials, as a result of China’s actions. At this stage, many Councils do not know the future of how to handle their recyclable materials and do not know how they will handle future potential cost increases.

How can procurement contribute to solving this serious issue? There is a need to grow the market for recycled materials. Councils’ procurement decisions have the power to influence the strengthening of local markets and the recycling industry in Australia by purchasing products made from recycled materials and ensuring that products purchased are recyclable and will be recycled at the end of life stage.

Rather than asking suppliers to provide details of how much recycled content their products contain, consider asking the question "Does the product contain virgin material? If so, why?". Councils can influence innovation by forcing suppliers to address their choice of materials used in product manufacture and encouraging them to work towards replacing virgin materials with recycled options, where ever possible. In many situations recycled materials can negate the need to use virgin materials at all.

When it comes to packaging, there are a number of things you can specify. These include, that packaging:

where ever possible is avoided.
is reusable.
can be collected by the supplier to be reused.
is recyclable.
is made from recycled materials.

You can hear more about this topic at our upcoming Sustainable Procurement Forum in Byron Bay on 27 June.

Sustainability and LGP RFT's

Sustainable Choice has been involved in the preparation of sustainability questions for inclusion in the RFTs outlined below. The sustainability criteria is mandatory and weighted. Each supplier's responses to sustainability criteria will be included in the 'Buyer's Guide' associated with each of the contracts, thereby enabling councils to make better informed decisions and purchase more sustainable products and services.

Playgrounds, Open Spaces, Modular Structures, Exterior Lighting, Recreational and Associated Infrastructure (LGP308-3)
RFT 2.13-2 Bitumen, Emulsions and Asphalt Materials and Services
RFT 1.13-2 Traffic Management Services
RFT 1.18 Waste Audit Management Services

Online Resources

Sustainable Choice has a comprehensive range of online resources for Sustainable Choice members. These resources include guides, fact sheets, case studies, example documents and useful links. Recently added online resources and links for Sustainable Choice members include:

Sustainable Choice Annual Data Report 2017

Updated - Tender Sustainability Section for the Procurement of Services

Updated - Tender Sustainability Section for the Procurement of Construction Related Products

Guidance on Innovation Procurement

Sustainable Choice Database

The Sustainable Choice Database makes the search for sustainable products and services easier for you. The expansive online database lists sustainable products and services, from energy-efficient lighting to recycled furniture and infrastructure products, paper and printing, road base, catering and events supplies. Sustainability indicators have been incorporated into the database to help you identify why a product is considered to be more sustainable than another in order for you to choose the most appropriate for your needs and budget. You can access the database at www.sustainablechoice.lgp.org.au

If you know of a sustainable supplier that isn’t listed on the database please let us know and we will contact them. Similarly if there is a particular product you are looking for and cannot find it on the database please let us know.

Suppliers new to the database:

Abco Products - Cleaning products

Ahoy Traffic Control - Social Enterprise in Traffic Management

Resource Recover Australia - Social Enterprise in Waste Management

Cato Logistics - Traffic Management

Novelex - Promotional products and uniforms

Stabilfix - Road stabilisation services

T & L Excavations and Asphalting - Asphalt services

Avijohn Contracting - Asphalt services