Procurement Facts

• Sustainable Procurement is a process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole-of-life basis. This is done in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment (14)

• Sustainable Procurement should consider the environmental, social and economic consequences of: design; non-renewable material use; manufacture and production methods; logistics; service delivery; use; operation; maintenance; reuse; recycling options; disposal; and suppliers' capabilities to address these consequences throughout the supply chain (15)

Life Cycle Analysis and Whole of Life Assessment

Life Cycle Analysis is a tool for assessing the environmental impacts associated with a product, process or service throughout its life cycle, from the extraction of the raw materials through to processing, transport, use, reuse, recycling or disposal. For each of these stages, the impact is measured in terms of resources used and environmental impacts caused. By making informed purchasing decisions, you can dramatically reduce water and energy consumption, and the amount of pollution, waste and greenhouse gas emissions generated. In many cases long term cost savings are also possible (16).

Sources:
14. From the Marrakech Taskforce on Sustainable Public Procurement; Accessed Online at: http://www.unep.fr/scp/marrakech/taskforces/pdf/Procurement2.pdf
15. From the Marrakech Taskforce on Sustainable Public Procurement; Accessed Online at: http://www.unep.fr/scp/marrakech/taskforces/pdf/Procurement2.pdf
16. Department of Environment and Water Resources, Life Cycle Assessment. Accessed Online at: www.environment.gov.au/settlements/industry/corporate/lca.html