GHD was engaged to develop a strategy for the New Zealand
Ministry of the Environment (MfE) to facilitate the integration of
sustainability into local government procurement.
Local government in New Zealand has a significant impact on the
economy, contributing 3.5 percent of GDP and employing around
40,000 people.
Most councils outsource infrastructure construction and
maintenance activities and so the introduction of sustainability
into council procurement processes presents a unique opportunity to
positively influence the many thousands of suppliers to local
government. In turn, this will lead to sustainability
principles being developed and incorporated into a wide range of
suppliers and activities and affords councils the opportunity to
meet their own sustainability objectives.
The GHD-developed strategy focuses on developing sustainability
as a point of competitive advantage for the supply market and to
normalise sustainable procurement as best value procurement by:
- The identification of existing tools and
resources, (including integration of Government resources) that can
be adapted and utilised
- The development of practical tools and resources that address
any gaps not filled through the utilisation of existing
material
- Accessible and effective guidance
- Reporting practices that both build council
and business capability in this field and incorporate the concepts
of whole of life costing and outcomes contracting into the
procurement process
Although the proposed strategy’s major benefit is the potential
impact on all council activity, there are subsidiary
benefits. For example:
- Asset management – supporting development of a
deeper understanding of how to value and manage the whole of life
cost and impact of an asset through its natural cycle of creation,
utilisation, and disposal or renewal.
- Workplace management – outcome based
management of suppliers will support development of better
workplace management for affected council and supplier staff and
other stakeholders (eg: retailers in a street upgrade environment,
or sports teams in a park).
- Environmental impacts – the programsupports
effective management of environmental impacts developing into a
point of competitive advantage for suppliers targeting council work
and thereby allowing market behaviour to drive improvement in
sustainable delivery of projects, works and services.
In simple terms, this sustainability integration
strategy will deliver increasing value for clients and
suppliers as they continue to create, build, manage and
use local government assets.