Reeve Blog

November 6, 2020 In Sustainable Products

5 Tips for Buying Sustainable IT Products

Will you be writing RFPs for computers or printers in the next 3-6 months but are unsure of what sustainability criteria to evaluate? Do you have trouble understanding if your IT purchases are in fact the most sustainable options?

 

On November 5, 2020, members of the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP) learn how to improve the social and environmental impact of their IT purchasing from expert speakers Clare Hobby, Director Purchaser Engagement at TCO Certified, and Frances Edmonds, Head of Sustainable Impact at HP Canada.

Find below a summary of tips to apply when purchasing IT materials for your organization.READ MORE

October 22, 2020 In Reeve Blog

5 Tips for Measuring and Reporting Your Sustainable Procurement Progress

Do you have a sustainable procurement policy but struggle to make meaningful changes in how you buy? Do you have trouble understanding if your actions are positively impacting your community?

On October 15, 2020, members of the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP) gathered to learn how to set, monitor, and report on their program performance from expert speakers Andrea Westfall, Sustainable Procurement Coordinator at the City of Mississauga and John Bys, Public Sector Specialist at EcoVadis. Find below a summary of tips to apply in your organization!READ MORE

September 16, 2020 In Social Procurement, Sustainable Procurement

Getting Sustainable and Social Procurement Lingo Straight Once and for All

Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels

 

There are a lot of terms being thrown around in the sustainable and social procurement world these days and it’s a source of confusion for many. For example, have you heard Senior Executives or City Councillors talking about fair wage when they actually mean living wage? Or think social procurement is somehow different or distinct from sustainable procurement?

The Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP) is here to clear the air because how can we be effective in advancing our social and environmental goals if we aren’t all speaking the same language? Find below definitions of sustainable and social procurement as well as other important related terms.

 

4 PILLARS OF SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT

Sustainable procurement embeds relevant sustainability considerations into processes for selecting goods and services, alongside traditional considerations like price, quality, service, and technical specifications. It’s a broad term that all sustainability issues can be nested under.

Typically, organizations draw from some combination of the following 4 pillars depending on their organizational plans and priorities. However, the best programs integrate all 4 pillars in a comprehensive, holistic way.

 

1. Environmental or Green Procurement

Sometimes referred to as circular procurement, aiming to:

  • reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste, energy and water usage, and toxicity,
  • increase the circularity of our economy, and
  • support clean, renewable industries.

 

2. Ethical Procurement

Reducing ‘sweatshop labour’ by:

 

3. Indigenous Procurement

Sometimes referred to as Aboriginal procurement, purchasing from Indigenous owned and operated businesses to support Reconciliation and socio-economic resilience for Indigenous peoples and communities.

 

4. Social Procurement

Reducing poverty and fostering inclusivity by creating economic opportunities for equity-seeking groups and other target populations. This includes:

  • purchasing from suppliers that offer social value, such as non-profits, social enterprises, and diverse suppliers, and
  • mandating suppliers to deliver social value as a condition of the contract, often outlined through Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs).

 

Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels

KEY TERMS FOR SOCIAL PROCUREMENT

Within the domain of social procurement, there are many other related concepts to understand. Find a list of definitions for commonly used terms below.

 

EQUITY-SEEKING GROUPS, often referred to as marginalized populations, include women, Indigenous peoples, members of visible minorities and persons with disabilities. 

 

TARGET POPULATIONS are groups that are of special interest to a community. They may fall outside of traditional equity-seeking groups but are nevertheless important for the health and vibrancy of the community. Examples include youth, new immigrants, veterans, ex-convicts, homeless people, and small-medium-sized business owners.

 

SOCIAL VALUE within the context of procurement includes suppliers offering: 

  • socially responsible production (e.g. certified B Corps), and 
  • leading diversity, equity and inclusion practices, 
  • employment and training for equity-seeking groups and target populations,
  • full-time fair and/or living wage employment,
  • advanced health and safety practices, and the like. 

 

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE is an entity with a mission to achieve social, cultural or environmental aims through the sale of goods and services that reinvests the majority of its profits back into its mission.

 

DIVERSE SUPPLIERS are majority-owned, managed, and controlled by Indigenous Persons or individuals from an equity-seeking community including, but not limited to, women, racialized minorities, persons with disabilities, newcomers, and LGBTQ+ persons.

Many organizations with supplier diversity programs require suppliers to be certified by organizations including the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council, Women Business Enterprise Canada Council, Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, and/or the Inclusive Workplace Supply Council of Canada.

 

LIVING WAGES reflect the hourly amount a family needs to earn to cover basic expenses in their specific community. These basic expenses include food, clothing, rental housing, childcare, transportation, and small savings to cover illness or emergencies. Living wages reduce severe financial stress by lifting families out of poverty and providing a basic level of economic security.

For example, Canadian municipalities certified as living wage employers include the City of Vancouver,  New Westminster,  Burnaby,  Port Coquitlam,  Cambridge,  Kingston, Grey Bruce, North Perth, and the County Huron. Some cities have adopted category-specific Living Wage policies like the City of Edmonton’s policy for janitorial services.

 

FAIR WAGES are minimum wage rates for specific occupations. They must be paid by contractors doing work for governments with fair wage policies. These policies generally apply to the construction, trades, and sometimes cleaning and security workers. They are often tied to union wage rates, ensuring contractors don not slash wages and benefits.

For example, the Government of Canada, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Yukon and a number of municipalities such as the City of Toronto, Thunder Bay, Clarington, Hamilton, and Vaughn have adopted fair wage policies.

 

COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENTS (CBAs) require suppliers to provide jobs, training, procurement opportunities, and other benefits to marginalized and target groups in a particular community. They are most often included in Industrial-Commercial-Institutional developments.

For example, Infrastructure Canada’s CEB initiative requires applicable projects to employ or provide procurement opportunities to at least three out of the eight following targeted groups: apprentices, Indigenous peoples, women, persons with disabilities, veterans, youth, recent immigrants, and small, medium-sized and social enterprises.

 

LOCAL PROCUREMENT refers to the purchase of goods and services from suppliers in the buyer’s region and aims to foster local economic development and build stronger relationships with their community.

For example, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador increased their procurement thresholds and implemented a local preference provision in June 2020 to better support local businesses through COVID-19 and beyond.

 

KEEP IN TOUCH

Stay up to date with sustainable procurement news in Canada by following the CCSP on LinkedIn, signing up for the CCSP’s monthly newsletter, and reading our latest Annual Report on the State of Sustainable Public Procurement in Canada.

____________________________

WRITTEN BY: TIM REEVE AND ALYSSA MCDONALD FROM THE CANADIAN COLLABORATION FOR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT (CCSP)

 

July 16, 2020 In Capacity Building

Looking for Top Tier Sustainable Procurement Events?

Have you been missing the learning and networking you used to get from in-person sustainability events? The Reeve team doesn’t want you to miss out on some of the most significant upcoming events on procurement and sustainability, so, we’ve highlighted the events we’re most excited about over the next few months.

Most of these sessions would have been hosted in person but are now transitioning to online because of COVID, something we have all been adjusting to! Like us, you may find yourself signing up to online events and either not attending or finding it less valuable than in-person events but we suggest giving it another shot!

Check out these 6 upcoming events and test our tips. Don’t miss out on the learning and connecting!

 

Tips for Attending Online Events

Before the Event

  • Create at least one learning goal and one business development/networking goal.
  • If possible, identify 1-3 people, either speakers or other attendees you’d like to connect with.
  • Prepare 1-3 questions in advance, knowing these may change during the actual event.

During the Event

  • Ask your 1-3 questions. Adapt as required and don’t forget to mention where you are from.
  • Connect with other attendees, most online events will have a chat function, so don’t forget to introduce yourself and use it.
  • Make note of anyone asking questions relevant to your own work and try to connect with them through the chat.

After the Event

  • Connect with the speakers and other attendees on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going.
  • Summarize your main take-away’s / learnings from the event and share back with your team.

 

July 16: SPLC Virtual Connect

The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) is hosting a virtual matchmaking event with a sustainability focus that offers an opportunity for buyers and suppliers to network in meaningful ways. Participants are invited to discover fresh business opportunities beneficial for all procurement professionals, whether seeking services or fulfilling the critical needs of buyers dedicated to influencing the sustainability goals of their organizations and their commitment to the good of the planet. More info and registration found here and more events found in their activities calendar here.

 

Aug. 25-27: GreenBiz Circularity 20

The GreenBiz Circularity 20 Conference will now be held as a free online event featuring plenaries, breakouts, tours, networking opportunities, and a solutions showcase all focussed on employing circular economy principles that navigate disruption, increase resilience, respond to shifting consumer demand and unlock new business opportunities. Sessions of interest for procurement professionals would include:

  • Forging a Resilient Circular Supply Chain
  • From Product to Practice: Circular Innovation from the Ground Up
  • Enabling Global Circular Supply Chains in the Electronics Industry

More info and registration found here.

 

Aug. 24-28: NIGP Forum Annual Meeting

The NIGP Annual Forum is the largest North American educational conference for individuals in public procurement. This year, the 75th anniversary, will be offered online and feature over 50 procurement-focussed sessions, keynotes, networking, virtual happy hours and more.

We would encourage you to bring a sustainability lens and ask questions to every session you attend; these sessions caught our eye as particularly relevant for sustainable procurement:

  • From Cradle to Grave: Procurement is Just the Beginning
  • Practical Steps to Move Procurement from a Back-Office Function to a Strategic Business Partner with Internal Departments
  • Social Responsibility! Why?

More info and registration found here.

 

Sept. 29-30: World Circular Economy Forum

Finland, the Netherlands, and Canada are joining forces for this year’s World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) online. Circular economy change-makers from around the world will share practical circular economy examples that will help us rebuild our economies stronger, greener and better! The Recycling Council of Ontario is set to host a side event on circular procurement alongside WCEF. More info and registration found here.

Two additional WCEF events will be held on April 15, 2021, in the Netherlands and online as well as September 13 – 15, 2021, in Toronto, Canada.

 

Oct. 5-9: SCC National Conference

Supply Chain Canada’s (SCC) 2020 National Conference and Fellow Awards Gala will focus on visibility, transparency, and innovation. Attendees will hear from expert speakers, discuss the latest topics in supply chain, discuss best practices, and build their network. More info and registration found here.

 

Oct. 20-22: FCM Sustainable Communities Conference

Municipalities are at the forefront of Covid response and sustainable development, and the function of procurement plays a large role in enabling this. The FCM Virtual Sustainable Communities Conference theme this year is Bringing Projects to Life, where delegates will explore fundamental issues and solutions for building sustainable communities. More info and registration found here.

 

Don’t forget to grab a beverage, turn your video on, and we’ll see you all there!

July 1, 2020 In Aboriginal Procurement

A Call-to-Action this Canada Day

Photo credit: Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business

 

Support Aboriginal Purchasing in Your Organization

As we celebrate Canada Day, the Reeve team is feeling extremely grateful to live in a place where people from all backgrounds can come together. However, we believe it is extremely important to recognize that our rights and freedoms came at a cost. Indigenous peoples have suffered immensely in this country and greater efforts must be made to achieve Reconciliation.

As procurement professionals, we want to show our support to Indigenous peoples by highlighting Indigenous enterprises and the institutions advancing Aboriginal procurement policies and practices across the country.

Simon Fraser University, a member of the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP), has put in place an Aboriginal Procurement Procedure to share its procurement opportunities with certified Aboriginal businesses. SFU is also an Aboriginal Procurement Champion, a special designation by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), as part of its Supply Change program to encourage organizations to procure products and services from Aboriginal suppliers. Mary Aylesworth, SFU’s Director of Financial Operations, reports that this approach has worked well.  “With CCAB I found a source that was national in scope and would do the process of authenticating Aboriginal businesses, as well as offering a channel for outreach and marketing to Aboriginal suppliers. I’d like to inspire MCSP members to consider adopting a similar approach. I want to see this grow and develop, so that all public sector organizations think about how they can work with Aboriginal businesses before going out to the general market.” For more on Aboriginal Procurement at SFU, check out the CCSP’s 2019 Annual Report.

We encourage you to contact the CCAB and the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) to learn more about their programs, inform yourself on Indigenous procurement best practices, and be inspired by organizations already on their journey aligning their spending with their commitments to Reconciliation such as:

  1. BC Hydro – Indigenous Contract & Procurement Policy
  2. Manitoba Hydro – Indigenous and Northern Procurement Policy
  3. Hydro One – Indigenous Relations Policy and Business Directory
  4. Province of BC – Indigenous Procurement Initiative
  5. Government of Saskatchewan – Indigenous Procurement Policy
  6. SaskPower – Aboriginal Procurement Policy

There is lots of work to be done to achieve Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples—let’s start with how we buy.

Sincerely,

The Reeve team, living and working on the traditional, unceded territory of Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Squamish Nations.

June 16, 2020 In Sustainable Procurement

Join a Canada-wide movement to advance sustainable procurement

 

In 2020, sustainable procurement is more relevant than ever. It’s an important lever for promoting supplier diversity, fighting climate change, and increasing the circularity of our economy. It helps manages supply chain risk and increases economic efficiency by considering the total cost of products and services—above and beyond the purchase price.

Sustainable procurement also allows organizations to contribute to achieving the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. In particular, it supports Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

 

PARTNERING FOR THE SDGs

The Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP) is excited to announce it’s teaming up with ECPAR and the Government of Canada’s Sustainable Development Goals Program to:

  • Bring awareness to SDG 12 and its importance;
  • Benchmark 200 private and public sector organizations through the 2020 Barometer survey; and
  • Build alignment across Canadian organizations advancing sustainable procurement.

 

TAKE THE 2020 BAROMETER SURVEY

Get involved by taking the 2020 Barometer survey by September 11, 2020. Receive a confidential, personalized report outlining the maturity of your sustainable procurement practices as compared to other respondents across Canada and recommendations for actions to advance your efforts.

 

SAVE TIME ON YOUR CCSP BENCHMARKING ASSESSMENT

CCSP members who participate in the 2020 Barometer survey will benefit from an expedited CCSP benchmarking assessment in preparation for the 2020 Annual Report on the State of Sustainable Public procurement in Canada released in January 2021.

Read the 2019 Annual Report here.

 

STAY UP TO DATE

Stay up to date with sustainable procurement news in Canada by following the CCSP on LinkedIn and signing up for the CCSP’s monthly newsletter.

June 1, 2020 In Green Building, Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Purchasing, Sustainable Products

5 Tips for Purchasing Greener Building Materials

Image of a green building at UBC.

 

Recognizing the global building sector contributes 39% of global carbon emissions, public organizations have had a strong focus on embedding sustainability into the design, construction, maintenance, operation, and demolition of both vertical and horizontal infrastructure. There have been great strides in adopting standards and certifications like LEED, WELL, and Envision as well as increasing the energy efficiency of buildings but there is lots more work to be done. Notably, experts are now calling to reduce embodied carbon of building materials like concrete, steel, mass timber, and insulation – an often hidden cost of building.

Many of us are familiar with the concept of operational carbon: greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted when operating and maintaining a building. Embodied carbon represents the carbon footprint of materials. It considers all GHGs released throughout the material’s supply chain, including extraction, manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, and demolition (World Green Building Council). Embodied carbon is taken into account when doing a life cycle analysis (LCA) of a building (Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront, 2019).

Embodied carbon of building materials is currently responsible for 11% of global GHG emissions (see right; Carbon Leadership Forum Website, 2019). However, as buildings become more efficient and utilize clean energy, embodied carbon is expected to represent 49% of all carbon emissions of buildings by 2050 (Embodied Carbon Review, 2018).

Find 5 tips for how procurement professionals can incorporate green building best practices and consider the embodied carbon of materials in upcoming infrastructure projects below. A special thank you to our 4 industry expert who shared these insights at the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP) last Peer Exchange webinar on May 14, 2020:

 

1.   Learn your building policies and sustainability plans

Get up to speed on 1) the building policies and codes in your region and 2) your organization’s sustainability plans to understand what goals and targets need to be met. In Vancouver, there’s a number of relevant policies and codes including the BC Energy Step Code, the Green Buildings Policy for Rezoning, and the City’s  Big Move #5 from the City’s Climate Emergency declaration.

 

2.   Get to know who’s responsible for green building 

It’s rare for a public organization to buy building materials themselves. The contractor is typically responsible for purchasing the materials and the designer guides what materials the contractor uses. Get to know who’s responsible for green building and ask to join the conversation in the early stages of the project – before specifications for designers are developed.

Look for opportunities to collaborate internally. Increasingly organizations are using integrated design processes (CMHC, 2020), which allow engineers, costing specialists, operations people, energy specialists, and other relevant actors to provide input to architects at early design stages (iiSBE, 2020).

 

3.   Use standards and certification to set performance-based targets

For example, use the LEED scorecard to signal where the design team should focus (see Figure 1). Provide rewards for achieving higher scores over the minimum thresholds and penalties for not meeting the thresholds.

 

Figure 1: LEED Scorecard for Materials and Resources

Other great green building standards and certifications include WELL, Living Building Challenge, Passive House Canada, Zero Carbon Building Standard by the Canada Green Building Council, ASHRAE, and EnerGuide by Natural Resources Canada. Find comprehensive lists on the National Institute of Building Sciences and the Ecolabel Index websites.

 

4.   Leverage Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to avoid greenwashing

Ask designers and contractors to provide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for a few priority materials. EPDs document the embodied carbon associated of specific materials. They act like food nutritional labels – either providing an industry average or a manufacturer-, product-, or plant-specific calculation. They are Third Party Verified, which helps avoid greenwashing, and are ISO 14044 & EN 15804 compliant.

Where can you find EPDs? EC3 is a new, free, open-source tool that compiles EPDs for building materials, created by a non-profit alliance of AEC firms, manufacturers, foundations, and building owners.

 

5.   Engage your suppliers to discover sustainability innovations

Engage your suppliers to learn about the sustainability features of particular products. Learn about new products and emerging technologies and set collaborative goals to buy greener materials. For example, concrete and cement contribute to sustainable, resilient buildings because they:

  • are most often extracted and manufactured within 100 miles,
  • contain recycled materials and are recyclable,
  • create durable, long-lasting structures,
  • require less finishes and use less energy in buildings, and
  • have a light colour which reduces heat island effect.

 

 

Lafarge Canada has worked to increase the sustainability of its cement by adding limestone into its mix. This small change leads to a 5 to 10% reduction in carbon, while maintaining competitive quality and price. They are also increasing the sustainability of their organization by investing in emerging technologies around:

  • alternative fuels,
  • alternative, low-carbon binders,
  • collecting and capturing CO2 to be used for other purposes, and
  • converting CO2 into other materials through mineralization.

Find out more about the sustainability of cement and concrete in these EPDs:

 

Bonus Tip: Carefully review your consultants and designers’ green credentials

Check out Calgary’s green building resources for more information on how to attract and onboard the right team.

_______________________
Written by: Alyssa McDonald, Program Manager at the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP)
Want to stay up to date with other sustainable procurement news in Canada? Follow the CCSP on LinkedIn and sign-up to the CCSP’s monthly newsletter.
May 7, 2020 In Sustainable Procurement

Charting a Path Forward in the Storm of COVID-19

Most mountaineers and backcountry explorers will tell you that when a storm descends that often the best thing to do is to actually do nothing. Conventional wisdom says settle in, get safe and ride it out. Scrambling around on the edge of a steep slope in the clouds and swirling snow is usually a recipe for disaster. But when a crisis occurs it’s hard to resist the urge to ‘do something’ – and to do it right now!

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis. We’ve never experienced this paralyzing halt in our normal way of life. And so over the last six weeks, our team at Reeve Consulting has been trying our best to follow the sage advice of explorers and first responders to stay put, stay calm and listen. We’ve focused on our people, our projects and our partners while we wait out the storm. It’s been incredibly hard. The situation has been so dynamic – with an intensity to the crisis and economic shut down that was almost impossible to imagine.

As we begin to understand the enormity of the situation, we’ve been seeing huge needs within our supply chain and procurement communities. It has inspired us to take action and connect with our clients and our members of the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP) to see how we can help address the enormous supply chain challenges they are facing. Whether it’s securing adequate and reasonably priced PPE, ensuring the continuity of contracts with smaller suppliers who have seen global supply chains turned upside down, or simply managing the challenge of continuing to offer seamless procurement and supply chain services in the midst of a sudden and unexpected transition to remote work and telecommuting.

The recent CCSP Peer Exchange on April 16, 2020 highlighted how many challenges supply chain professionals are facing right now – and the incredible pressure they are under to secure adequate supply in a time of unprecedented competition for product. This has been further compounded by the fragility of global supply chains that bring certain benefits and efficiencies but leave many communities completely disconnected from some of the critical suppliers and inputs that are absolutely essential to us. It was amazing to see our members respond to the call to share information and resources to manage issues in real time – and then to be able to document those resources and make them available broadly to our members and others.

We know the first job is to stabilize the health and safety of workers and the public at large. But it’s coming with some direct sustainability costs and we are already hearing about the impacts of dysfunctional supply chains under pressure from COVID-19. As we scramble to assemble necessary supplies and PPE for front line workers from far flung regions around the world, one can only imagine the cost that will come in terms of packaging and waste and transportation emissions. The temptation to move towards more single-use and disposable products may be a huge step backwards in our efforts towards Zero Waste.

We’ll be monitoring these unintended consequences and hope that an outcome of this pandemic is an overhaul of how we think about our supply chains. Let’s continue to pause and reconsider the value of producing more products domestically, the role that small and local businesses play in our economy, what it means to really think about ‘best value’ and ‘total cost’ when it comes to how and where essential products like our food are produced, and the working conditions of people caring for our most vulnerable populations.

We know this storm isn’t over – but we do see skies brightening at the moment – and that’s giving us the chance to chart our course and take action. As we consider the post COVID-19 recovery let’s take this opportunity to rebuild our economy in a way that is more respectful of workers and the planet.

—

By: Tim Reeve, President of Reeve Consulting and Founder of the Canadian Collaboration of Sustainable Procurement 

January 23, 2020 In MCSP, Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Purchasing, Social Procurement

Collaborating to Activate Social Procurement for Low Value Purchases across Canada’s Public Sector

Results of the Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement’s 2019 Working Group

By Alyssa McDonald

 

Social procurement is a major trend in sustainable purchasing. It has been gaining ground to complement green purchasing as more public organizations consider how their buying power can positively impact the social wellbeing of their communities such as poverty reduction, economic and social inclusion, and local economic development.

Inspired by this momentum, the Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement’s 2019 Working Group with members from Calgary, Victoria, Halifax, Edmonton and Mississauga developed and piloted a training program to encourage public credit card and p-card holders to include social value when making everyday purchases like catered meals, promotional materials, and contract labour/services.

They hoped to build awareness around the opportunities for purchases under procurement thresholds, give members tools to make an impact with minimal resources, and promote a united approach for MCSP members across Canada.

 

What is a Working Group?

The MCSP’s Working Group is made of volunteers from current member institutions interested in working together to advance thought-leadership and co-create resources on a topic of mutual interest. They convene for 5-6 facilitated meetings throughout the year and present their work to all members at our final Peer Exchange webinar.

 

How was social procurement defined?

The group’s definition of social procurement is best defined by the presentation itself (see image on right).

More specifically, it signifies purchasing goods and services from suppliers including social enterprises and suppliers that demonstrate best practices in:

  • diversity, inclusion, and accessibility of marginalized populations,
  • providing employment and training for youth and people with employment barriers (e.g. people with disabilities, new immigrants, chronically unemployed, ex-offenders, etc.),
  • offering full-time and living wage employment for marginalized and targeted populations,
  • considering social value in their production process (e.g. Fairtrade, B Corps, etc.), and/or
  • adopting advanced health and safety practices.

 

What did the Working Group accomplish?

The Working Group developed a 15-minute training on “Including Social Value in Your Low-Value Purchases” to deliver to p-cards and credit card holders in public organizations. The content included key definitions, the business case for social procurement, and how and when to consider social value when making a purchase. Additionally, it shared 4 recent social procurement success stories.

Once the training was complete, members tested it on nearly 40 staff across 4 cities – Victoria, Halifax, Edmonton, and Calgary – and used the feedback to finetune the content and create additional resources such as an FAQ document and a guide on “How to Find a Social Value Business”.

 

What did participants think?

Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive! They agreed (average score of 4.8/5) that the training:

  1. Enhanced their understanding of the concept and benefits of including social value in their purchases;
  2. Offered relevant information to help them include social value in their purchases; and
  3. Made them more likely to include social value considerations in their purchases.

Feedback forms included quotes like: “Learning about this topic and seeing that the city supports this initiative is making me think about how my section can improve. I hadn’t thought about my purchases like this prior!” and “I’m happy that the city is encouraging more sustainable and community-driven purchases rather than promoting buying whatever is cheapest!” Likewise, the success stories – like the one from Edmonton below – were often cited as insightful and motivating.

 

 

What’s next?

The training materials are shared with MCSP’s 20 member organizations through our online Resource Centre and are actively being updated with new success stories from across our network. Victoria and Halifax have formally integrated the new content into their staff training sessions and intranets… and we’re actively looking for more public organizations interested in implementing sustainable procurement in 2020!

This year, our network is relaunching as the Canadian Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (CCSP) to officially open our community to the entire public sector and offer more accessible pricing to smaller organizations. Find out more in our new program brochure and reach out to us if you’re interested.

 

READ MORE

August 28, 2019 In Circular Procurement, Sustainability, Sustainable Procurement, Sustainable Products, Sustainable Purchasing, Training

TRU launches next phase of sustainable procurement

This spring, the Municipal Collaboration for Sustainable Procurement (MCSP) launched its latest Annual Report on the State of Sustainable Public Procurement in Canada containing 9 success stories from members including this story from Thompson Rivers University. Download the full report here. 

Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is home to 14,000 students across several campuses in interior BC. TRU is proud of its platinum AASHE STARS sustainability score–the highest designation available–which credits its commitment to sustainable procurement. TRU will be releasing a new campus sustainability plan this fall.

Reeve kicked off the next phase of sustainable procurement work for TRU this week. We’ll be working with a variety of departments—from the Bookstore to Facilities and Operations—to define the highest impact procurement opportunities and align procurement with the environmental and social priorities emerging from the sustainability planning process. We’ll then develop product guides and an action plan, and bring buyers across campuses together for hands-on training.

This project builds on our work with TRU earlier this spring to develop a Sustainable Procurement Guidebook for buying staff at the university. The Guidebook offers simple decision frameworks, tools and resources on how to include sustainability within PCard, multiple quotes, and Request for Proposal procurement processes.

The Draft Guide was presented to TRU’s Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee in February 2019, and they were pleased with the results. Project lead Jim Gudjonson, Director of the Office of Environment and Sustainability observed that creating the Guide renewed the important conversation among key stakeholders about implementing sustainable procurement at TRU.

This second phase will now define the priority product and service categories for sustainable procurement and equip buyers across TRU’s campuses and regional centres with focused information and training on these procurement categories.