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- The EU Commission is carrying out a second
stakeholder consultation on its draft Green
Public Procurement (GPP) criteria and has asked
for feedback on its proposals. Click here for more
information
- A new report by management consultancy firm
AT Kearney reveals that companies with a ‘true’
commitment to sustainability are better
positioned than their competitors to weather the
financial downturn. Click here to read the report
- A National Audit Office report (Addressing
the environmental impacts of Government
procurement) has found that the government has
strengthened its drive to purchase more
environmentally sustainable goods and services.
Click here to read the report
- The Carbon Reduction Commitment comes into
force in April 2010. Click here to find out how your
organisation may be affected
- The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012
has published its annual review for 2008. The
report examines the sustainability of all
aspects of the London 2012 Olympic programme. Click here download the
report
- On 12 May 2009, a “Green Channel” for patent
applications came into force. Applicants can now
request accelerated processing of their
application if the invention relates to a
‘green’ or environmentally-friendly technology.
Click here for more
information
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A big thank you
to all those signatories who have completed our annual
progress review. The data we collect helps us to measure
the success of the Mayor of London’s Green Procurement
Code and highlights the important role that London
organisations play in reducing environmental impacts
through their purchasing power.
The information
you supplied will be used to measure your environmental
performance and your organisation may be awarded bronze,
silver or gold status in the Mayor of London's Green
Procurement Code. The highest performing signatories
will be recognised at our awards ceremony in the
autumn.
Click here for more information on the
progress review.
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We
look forward to celebrating the achievements of
signatories at our annual awards ceremony. The ceremony
recognises the outstanding achievements of businesses
that have implemented green procurement initiatives. It
also highlights the total amount that signatories to the
code have spent on green products and the CO2 savings
achieved through these purchases.
This year’s
event will take place at the Royal Institute of British
Architects.
For 2009 we have introduced a new
award for Best Performing SME in order to recognise the
strong performance of small and medium-sized enterprises
in the Green Procurement Code.
More information
on the awards will shortly be available on our website.
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The
Green Procurement Code website is under-going a
makeover. Following feedback from our signatories we
have decided to give the website a brand new look. The
new site still has all the useful information and tools
to help you implement green purchasing, but with a
fresher look and easier to navigate format. There are
also some new sections, including a ‘Publications and
reports’ page, which will contain the latest industry
publications.
Check out the new site at the usual
address (www.greenprocurementcode.co.uk) when it
goes live next month. |
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Congratulations to the London Borough of
Hackney, who won the award for Most Improved Council at
the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards. The judging
panel were impressed by the strength and speed of the
Council’s improvement across a whole range of services.
Hackney Council is now rated by the Audit Commission and
by local residents as a Council that is delivering real,
sustainable improvements. Click here for more
information.
Well done to the Greater London
Authority (GLA), who were ‘Highly commended’ in the
National Government Opportunities (GO) Awards. The GLA
was recognised for its ‘Excellence in Sustainability and
Social Procurement’. The GO Awards aim to recognise
excellence within procurement, and the benefits to the
wider business and social community that smart,
effective and sustainable purchasing can deliver. Click here for more
information. |
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New research by the Government shows
that 95 per cent of the UK’s large construction firms
will give preference to subcontractors who can prove
their green credentials. The research, from
environmental legislation guidance website
NetRegs.gov.uk, shows that firms with a turnover in
excess of £10 million are increasingly awarding
contracts to subcontractors with environmental
credentials.
Click here to read the full
story. |
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Heart of
the City is a charity that provides free advice to
businesses that wish to develop a corporate social
responsibility (CSR) programme. As well as focusing on
environmental topics, Heart of the City can offer advice
on a range of CSR activities including volunteering,
fundraising, work experience, diversity and employee
wellbeing. If your business is located in the City,
Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Camden,
Hackney or Islington and would like to access their free
support please visit their website or call 020 7332 3848. |
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The Green
Procurement Code team were pleased to host a stall at
The London Climate Change Marketplace on 1 May at Old
Billingsgate. The marketplace was part of the third
Prince's May Day Summit - the UK's largest gathering of
businesses committed to taking action to tackle the
issue of climate change.
Speakers at the event
included HRH The Prince of Wales, President of BITC,
John Ashton - Special Representative for Climate Change,
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Rt Hon Ed
Miliband MP, The Secretary of State for Energy and
Climate Change and Sir Stuart Rose, Executive Chairman,
Marks and Spencer and Chairman, BITC.
Click here for more
information. |
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London
Remade and LRS hosted a ‘meet the expert’ stand at this
year’s Futuresource exhibition, which was held at the
London‘s ExCel from 9-11 June. Visitors had the
opportunity to speak directly to leading individuals in
waste prevention and reuse; recycling collection and
reprocessing; resource efficiency; market development;
renewable energy and carbon reduction.
Click here for more information on
Futuresource 2009.
Click here to find out how LRS can help
your business. |
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A massive
logging operation planned by Asian Pulp & Paper and
the Sinar Mas Group (APP/SMG) and associated companies
is to include large portions of the only areas that
Sumatran orangutans have ever successfully been
reintroduced into the wild. Click here for the full
story.
If APP is part of your supply
chain, you may be exposed to significant reputational
risk. Please let them know that you will only buy timber
and paper products from sustainable sources and from
companies that respect the natural environment. |
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Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed
Miliband has called for businesses to take advantage of
the £100 million on offer to help small and medium
businesses become more energy efficient over the next
two years. The initiative to offer interest-free loans
to small and medium enterprises is an existing scheme
run by the Carbon Trust. The funding top-up will expand
the scheme three-fold.
Click here to find out how your business
could benefit. |
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Friday 5
June saw the launch of London’s own ‘Regional Centre for
Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development’
(RCE). An RCE is an active and diverse network of people
and organisations working to promote Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD) in their region. London
RCE is the first European capital city to join the
network and aims to promote ESD across all sectors of
the London community. The launch took place at London
South Bank University. Membership of the London RCE is
open to all London stakeholders with an interest in
promoting a sustainable London.
Click here for more
information. |
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As
participants in the Cradle to Cradle design philosophy,
carpet manufacturer DESSO hosted ‘An Audience with
Michael Braungart’ in conjunction with Ahrend on 19 May.
Professor Michael Braungart founded the Environmental
Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA) and works
with companies and organisations worldwide to apply the
Cradle to Cradle methodology to the design of new
processes, products and services.
DESSO
currently sells seven products that fulfill the Cradle
to Cradle criteria and aims to have a complete C2C
production line by 2020.
Click here to find out more about the
DESSO range.
Click here to find out more about Cradle
to Cradle. |
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Smart Energy, an energy trading company
that specialises in buying energy from independent
generators and selling it to utilities, has launched the
UK’s first flexible green tariff. The new service is
aimed directly at business customers and allows them to
specify the exact fuel mix of the electricity they use.
Customers will be able to specify how much renewable
energy they want, and also what sources they want it
from, providing them with the opportunity to support
local projects, or technologies in which they have a
particular interest.
Click here read the full story. |
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Leading
recycled paper range Evolve has had a makeover with new,
improved products, a wider range of weights and sizes
and easy to use packaging. Customers now have more
choice with improved quality and excellent environmental
performance. Evolve is an M-real product; a top quality
office paper made from genuine waste paper in a process
that is designed with the environment in mind.
Click here for more
information. |
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Making your
business energy efficient is set to become much simpler
with smart meters which will transmit and receive live
data to and from your energy company. The meters, which
will be installed in every business by 2020 under
government proposals, show you how much electricity or
gas you're using and what it's costing you, so you can
limit your use at expensive peak times when emissions
are highest.
Find out more at NetRegs. |
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The recycled
glass icon, designed specifically for serving tap water
in the capital’s bars, eateries and businesses was
launched in May. The winning design was by industrial
designer Neil Barron in the ‘Carafe for London’
competition staged last year by Thames Water as part of
its London On Tap campaign. ‘Tap Top’, with its four
non-drip pouring spouts forming a traditional tap head
shape, can be ordered on the London On Tap website and
can be branded with any organisations’ logo.
Click here more information. |
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The
sustainable procurement sub-group, chaired by the Mayor
of London’s Green Procurement Code, met on 23 June 2009
to discuss delivery service plans. In addition, Graham
Randles, Programme Manager for the Green Procurement
Code, gave a presentation on the National Audit Office’s
report ‘Addressing the environmental impacts of
Government procurement’.
All the presentations
will soon be available for download on our website |
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- Signatories to the Green Procurement Code have had
a busy couple of months completing the annual progress
review. The review measures green purchasing over the
last financial year and the results will be announced
at our annual awards ceremony in the autumn.
- Graham Randles presented at London Borough of
Tower Hamlets’ Supplier Forum on 8 April at Mile End
Ecology Park.
- Barbara Morton and Graham Randles presented at
Inside Government conference: “Towards Ethical Green
Procurement.” The GLA Responsible Procurement group
and Transport for London also presented a case study
at this event.
- Graham Randles gave a presentation on the Mayor of
London's Green Procurement Code at the launch of
London’s own ‘Regional Centre for Expertise in
Education for Sustainable Development’.
|
| Event |
Climate Change 09: the greatest
environmental challenge |
| Venue |
The
Barbican, London |
| Date |
9 July
2009 |
| Web |
www.publicserviceevents.co.uk/main/overview.asp?ID=76 |
| Cost |
From
£175 + vat |
| About |
This
event brings together leading experts in the field
of climate change and carbon reduction. |
| |
|
| Event |
Sustainable procurement training for
SMEs |
| Venue |
tbc |
| Date |
28 July
2009 |
| Web |
www.greenprocurementcode.co.uk/?q=node/290 |
| Cost |
Free |
| About |
A half
day training session for Green Procurement Code
signatories, delivered by Action Sustainability
and the Green Procurement Code team. |
| |
|
| Event |
Sustainable procurement training for
SMEs |
| Venue |
tbc |
| Date |
29
September 2009 |
| Web |
www.greenprocurementcode.co.uk/?q=node/290 |
| Cost |
Free |
| About |
A half
day training session for Green Procurement Code
signatories, delivered by Action Sustainability
and the Green Procurement Code team. |
| |
|
| Event |
E-World Purchasing & Supply |
| Venue |
New
Connaught Rooms, London |
| Date |
29-30
September 2009 |
| Web |
www.eworld-purchasing.com |
| Cost |
Free |
| About |
The UK’s
leading event focusing on the use of leading-edge
technologies and techniques within the procurement
& supply chain functions. |
| |
|
| Event |
Sustainable Procurement 09 |
| Venue |
QEII
Conference Centre, London |
| Date |
30
September 2009 |
| Web |
www.govnet.co.uk/susproc/ |
| Cost |
From
£149 + vat |
| About |
This
event will bring together key public sector
procurement professionals to discuss how effective
sustainable and responsible procurement practices
will affect the social, environmental and economic
conditions of towns and cities across the
UK. |
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|
| Event |
Environment 09: Creating the climate
for change |
| Venue |
QEII
Conference Centre, London |
| Date |
9-10
November 2009 |
| Web |
www.neilstewartassociates.com/sw116/ |
| Cost |
From
£199 + vat |
| About |
This
event looks at the changes that need to be made by
businesses, governments and local communities in
order to tackle climate
change. | |
Signatories to the Green
Procurement Code can access extensive information
on implementing green procurement in our online toolkit. This members-only
resource offers guidance on writing policies,
securing staff participation, gaining management
support, eco-labels and lots more. The latest
addition to the toolkit is a sample job description for the post of
‘Sustainable Procurement Champion’. Check this
newsletter and our website for regular additions
and updates.
Envirowise has developed an online water efficiency tool that
allows companies to look at where and when water
is being used and treated, how much it is costing
them and where savings might be most easily made.
The Carbon Mark Directory is a free
resource for the promotion of practical solutions
to combating climate change - from suppliers of
environmental products to groundbreaking research.
NetRegs offers free environmental
guidance for small and medium-sized businesses in
the UK.
Businesses in England searching
for locally produced woodfuel can now access a
comprehensive list of suppliers through the
Biomass Energy Centre. Click here to access the ‘Woodfuel
Suppliers List’.
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All submissions should include
an accompanying image.
Text will be edited
before use. We cannot guarantee that submissions
will be included. |
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news@greenprocurementcode.co.uk |
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