Question: Has the Council embedded climate action and waste reduction into their procurement policies?

Criteria

Three tier criteria
Criteria met if the council has a stand alone environmental or sustainable procurement policy, or a complete section on Sustainable or Responsible Procurement, Climate Change and Action or something similar, within their procurement policy that includes the following.

Two or more of the following criteria must be met to meet the minimum criteria for this point:
1. The policy makes explicit reference to the council's Climate Action Plan and zero carbon targets.
2. The policy requests to see the carbon reduction plan of the supplier in the tendering process or asks the supplier to detail any specific steps taken in the design and manufacture of the services to increase energy efficiency and reduce any detrimental environmental impacts.
3. The policy encourages or requires suppliers, through selection processes, to adopt processes and procedures to reduce their environmental impact, including energy consumption and associated carbon emissions, where practicable. For example a council might allocate 5% or more of the tendering overall evaluation score to the environmental actions of the tenderer (the supplier’s contribution to carbon reduction within their own operations or other actions)
4. The policy encourages or requires suppliers, through selection processes, to adopt circular economy processes and procedures where practical.

Additional points if the council has a mandatory requirement for tenders to do any of the following:
- Demonstrate how they will meet energy efficiency requirements or minimise energy consumption.
- Demonstrate how they will minimise waste in their products and services. This could be through recycled, natural, biodegradable or renewable materials being used, through not using single use plastic or other non-recyclable materials or through ensuring products and services last for as long as possible.

Additional points if the council's procurement policy includes any of the following:
- The council aims to source low or zero carbon energy wherever possible.
- The council aims to phase out the use of fossil fuels from their council fleet.
- The council references the waste hierarchy in its policy, for example by stating that it encourages the councils to consider if repeat procurement requests are always needed.