City Procurement
"the current unsustainable patterns of production and
consumption must be changed in the interest of our future welfare
and that of our descendants."
– Millennium Declaration
Welcome to the City of London Corporation’s City Procurement
pages. This section is designed to offer City-based
businesses more information when considering the local impacts of
their purchasing decisions. Here you will find information
about:
Local
Purchasing
By purchasing locally, businesses have the opportunity to foster
local economic regeneration and create employment opportunities
with money they would have to spend anyway. We believe that
purchasing from local Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SMEs) that
offer best value for money can help increase market competition and
regenerate our local economy. There are also clear Corporate
Social Responsibility benefits, both social and environmental, from
buying locally.
To ensure City companies continue to procure goods and services
at best value for money, we undertook research to find out which
local, SME-orientated sectors are fit to supply.
Download the full findings of the research
here.
Through the Supply Cross River project, the City Corporation is
able to offer City businesses tailored assistance in promoting
supplier diversity and sustainable procurement. For more
information or to arrange a consultation,
email us.
In addition to encouraging City firms to make responsible
purchasing decisions and to buy locally, we also encourage City
firms to work with their Tier 1 & 2 suppliers to advance the
agenda further down the supply chain. The City Corporation
will be hosting sector-based Meet the Buyer events through 2009 and
2010. If you are interested in a particular sector,
please let us know.
Find out more about why purchasing locally is so important.
Green Purchasing
At the Rio Conference in 1992 (UNCED) the heads of 176 states
identified a "major cause of the continued deterioration of the
global environment [to be] the unsustainable pattern of consumption
and production, particularly in industrialized countries" and
called governments to "review the purchasing policies of their
agencies and departments". In recent years environmental
objectives have become a major topic in procurement; many
businesses have implemented green purchasing policies as a
consequence.
Green purchasing is environmentally responsible procurement;
it's about using your purchasing power to promote productive use of
resources and materials. This involves integrating environmental
considerations into all stages of the purchasing process: from
avoiding unnecessary purchases and identifying greener products to
the specifications you use for contracts and whole life costing.
Quality is the priority: green products are fit for purpose and can
be cost comparable.
The City Corporation helps host the City Environmental Forum,
during which informal, themed meetings with presentations given by
both outside speakers and Forum members are held on a quarterly
basis. These meetings look at best practice and practical advice on
environmental and sustainability issues. Lunch is provided, giving
people the opportunity to network and discuss ideas and current
challenges they are facing in managing their operation. There is no
fee associated with membership, however, members are encouraged to
host meetings and recommend or provide speakers. Topics covered to
date include; Energy, Achieving Buy-in for Environmental
Initiatives, Environmental Management Systems, Sustainable
Refurbishment, carbon footprinting and the Carbon Reduction
Commitment.
See more information on environmental issues.
You may also wish to visit the Mayor’s
Green Procurement Code website.
Supplier Diversity
Supplier Diversity takes creative and proactive steps toward
ensuring equal opportunities for under-represented businesses, such
as minority ethnic-owned, women-owned and disabled people-owned
businesses, to bid for business (contracts and procurement
opportunities) with the public and private sectors. It is important
to be aware that Supplier Diversity does not guarantee work; it
only provides equal opportunities to under-represented businesses
to compete. The City Corporation works in collaboration with
Supplier Diversity Europe and MSDUK.
Supplier Diversity Europe (SDE)
SDE’s mission is to enhance the capacity of large organisations and
under-represented SMEs to engage in business relationships with
each other.
Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK)
MSDUK is
a private sector-led, not-for-profit membership organisation
created to provide a direct link between its corporate members and
minority businesses to enable the building of mutually beneficial
business relationships.
Fairtrade
The Fairtrade Mark is an independent consumer label which
appears on around 2,500 products as an independent guarantee that
disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a
better deal. There are an estimated one million farmers and workers
directly involved in Fairtrade and millions more benefit indirectly
from the extra money it brings to their community.
The City of London was awarded Fairtrade Status for the Square
Mile on 22 October 2007.
Visit our Fairtrade website to find out what this means.
The City of London Corporation also hosts a City Fairtrade
Steering Group, which comprises a number of influential businesses
and organisations including Aviva, KPMG, Waitrose, Matrix Knowledge
Group and the Barbican Centre. The steering group is open to
representatives of businesses, resident or community groups based
within the Square Mile. If you would like to get involved please
email
fairtrade@cityoflondon.gov.uk
or call 020 7332 1431.
Find out more about the Steering Group.
The City Fairtrade Steering Group has launched the
Fairtrade
Hub, which is a new online tool that allows its members:
- to pledge their support for Fairtrade in the Square Mile
- to share practice examples and help each other overcome any
barriers
- fairtrade purchasing
- to keep track of the latest news and events around Fairtrade in
the City
- to shape the future of the City's Fairtrade campaign
To find out more about the City campaign and how you can get
involved
read our FAQ or email
fairtrade@cityoflondon.gov.uk
or call 020 7332 1431.
For more information on Fairtrade, products and suppliers, visit
the Fairtrade Foundation’s website.