| Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Defra is the government department with the main responsibility for sustainable development. |
| Defra brings together the all aspects of environment, rural farming and food production under one government department for the first time. The UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy published in March 2005 gave Defra a central role in developing policy guidelines for a sustainable future. Sustainable procurement was made a high priority in this sustainability agenda. The Action Plan which is to be delivered by the Sustainable Procurement Task Force in April 2006 aims to help the government achieve its objective of making the UK the leader in the EU in Public sector procurement by 2009. | |
| website | www.defra.gov.uk |
| European Union | |
| There is a vast array of information and guidelines about sustainability and procurement being brought out by the EU.The Environment site at the EU website gives further information about the policies for the environment and towards achieving sustainable development. | |
| website | www.europa.eu.int/index_en.htm |
| Office of Government Commerce | OGC was created to improve the efficiency of the public sector - and it recognises that procurement is one way to do so. |
| The OGC has a number of initiatives are in progress. For example a Suppliers Relations Division has been set up to identify key suppliers in the public sector and maintain information which may be beneficial for procurement. Also a governemnt procurement card has been introduced to assist with e-procurement and facilitate easier payment.This is a branded Visa purchasing card and there are plans to expand it's use by public sector buyers. More details of these and other developments are available on the website. | |
| www.ogc.gov.uk | |
| OGC buying solution | A professional procurement service for central government. |
| OGC buying solutions seeks to deliver a dedicated professional procurement service which will achieve value for money gains for central government. Two of the initiatives involved are the 'Catalist' and 'Managed Services' online procurement schemes. Through the online Catalist website eligible customers can browse through the online catalogue and place orders for the goods and services they require. Similarly the 'Managed Services' scheme provides professional assistance in purchasing a fully managed service in telecommunications, energy provision and Government secure intranet. | |
| website | www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk |
| The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply | CIPS is the professional body for Purchasing in the UK. |
| CIPS gained a Royal Charter in Sept 1992 and is recognised as the professional body for purchasing and supply in the UK. The educational programmes and the qualifications they award are the recognised standards for the sector. Cips has over 40,000 members worlwide and offers membership at a variety of levels. | |
| website | www.cips.org |
| The Canny Buyer | Practical advice on sustainable procurement in association with Aberdeen City Council |
| This initiative is funded by the Scottish Executive Sustainable Action Grant and run under the auspices of Aberdeen City Council. The Canny Buyer website contains guidelines on sustainable procurement and a pocket guide which can be downloaded from the website. The pocket guide attempts to explain how sustainable procurement can be introduced to the everyday running of a company. | |
| website | www.cannybuyer.com |
| London Remade | Promoting recycling and the procurement of recycled products. |
| London Remade promotes the use of recycled materials by helping to develop facilities for recycling within London and encouraging the procurement of recycled products. | |
| website | www.londonremade.com |
| Remade Scotland | First initiative of it's kind in the UK seeks to identify and develop new markets for waste materials. |
| Remade Scotland is funded directly by the Scottish Executive and all 32 local authorities in Scotland. As well as working on helping ensure that facilities exist to collect waste and then recycle it so that it can be remade into a recycled product Remade has also worked on Supply chain management issues and in particular procurement with local authorities. | |
| website | www.remade.org.uk |
| Business in the Community | A unique business led charity with over 700 members. |
| BITC was founded in 1982 when the country was suffering from high levels of unemployment and inner city riots. This charity tries to improve the impact of business on society. Prince Charles took over as President of BITC in 1985 | |
| website | www.bitc.org.uk |
| Sustainable Supply Chain Forum | SSCF |
| SSCF is based at the Institute of Innovation & Research, University of Manchester. It's primary aim is to raise awareness amongst members about the importance of sustainable procurement. Member organizations come from industry, commerce and the public sector and the Forum arranges events where members can share ideas and experiences. | |
| website | www.sscf.info |
| Environment Agency | The leading public organisation for the environment in England and Wales. |
| The Environment Agency is concerned with protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. It has committed itself to integrating environmental and ethical issues into procurement and it has won a number of awards for doing so. | |
| website | www.environment-agency.gov.uk |
| Scottish Environmental Protection Agency | The government body in Scotland charged with responsibility for protecting the environment. |
| Forum for the Future | Founded in 1996 the UK's leading sustainable development charity. |
| Forum for the Future (FFF) was founded by Jonathon Porritt, Sara Parkin and Paul Ekins in 1996. FFF works with companies local authorities and other bodies to encourage and assist them in bringing into place sustainable development initiatives. | |
| website | www.forumforthefuture.org.uk |
| Waste and Resources Action Programme | WRAP |
| WRAP was established in 2001, initially it's responsibility was to promote sustainable waste management but procurement is now being looked at by WRAP as a way to help bring about sustainable development. | |
| website | www.wrap.org.uk |
| Northern Alliance for Sustainability | Organisation of NGO's mainly from Eastern Europe. It was founded in 1991. |
| This is an organisation of non-government organisations working for sustainable development in the northern hemisphere. The majority of members are from eastern european countries and from nations that were formerly part of the USSR. | |
| website | http://www.anped.org/ |