Organised by the Ministry for the Environment, the two-day conference was attended by 165 people representing, almost equally, government and private business interests. There was also a strong contingent of delegates from overseas.
The conference underlined how seriously the NZ government now “walks the talk” on environmentally sustainable practice. Commitment to this paradigm shift is clearly illustrated by the flagship Govt ³ programme, led by the Ministry for the Environment, and launched in November 2003. Though the programme is still a pilot project, it is now fully operational and already followed by 40 government agencies.
Govt ³ symbolises the “three pillars of sustainability” – environmental, economic and social – that the government agencies now observe across their entire procurement activities including tenders for buildings, consumables, energy, vehicles, etc.
Welcoming delegates to the conference, Mark Steel from the Ministry of Economic Development pointed out that government agencies now include sustainability among the weighting factors they apply when evaluating tenders and selecting suppliers.
Steve Dixon, Manager of the Ministry for the Environment’s Sustainable Industry Group, explains that the weighting factors applied to a product or system cover fitness for purpose, value performance over lifetime and sustainability issues which, depending on circumstances and the agency involved, can be around 10%.
The Sustainable Industry Group actively encourages industry to adopt good sustainable practice voluntarily. For example the “product stewardship” process has successfully involved manufacturers in taking accountability for the entire lifecycle of their products.
The government’s aim is to get all suppliers on board with sustainability as soon as possible. Some agencies insist on seeing sustainability issues observed by every supplier making it on to the shortlist.
According to Steve Dixon, smarter procurement along sustainability lines is invariably led in different countries around the world by their governments. In New Zealand, the government favours independent verification of sustainability, for example the Environmental Choice New Zealand labeling system, ISO 14041 certification and the “Enviromark” system.
Set up 12 years ago, Environmental Choice is operated by a trust partly funded by government. It operates to international environmental standards and principles and already covers some 350 products and systems.
Staff from the Ministry for the Environment, addressing the conference, noted that a few years ago such keen interest in sustainable purchasing would not have occurred. They explained that government is observing most progress from working alongside industry and organisations, in partnerships, to achieve government’s sustainability goals.
Conference delegates learned that all suppliers should now expect government agencies to question them on what they’ve done or will do about sustainability. Government purchasing decisions are thus moving away from a focus on price to the more holistic perspective of overall best value for money including sustainability issues. One successful tenderer noted that it’s not all about being green at any cost: competitive bidding still applies.
Steve Dixon says all business and industry interests in New Zealand should note that the way the government procures is changing, the infrastructure is already in place, and the sustainability focus is here to stay. “Already, lots of momentum is evident”, he says.
Last month, the Ministry for the Environment launched its Green Building programme and a Sustainable Fit-out Guide.
