Embedding carbon reduction into public procurement

It is no secret that the carbon management landscape is extremely busy and hard to navigate. There are a wealth of initiatives, groups, guidance, standards, tools and processes to be aware of and to be compliant with. It was a desire to make sense of that busy and complex landscape that resulted in the Carbon Reduction Code. Organisations desperately needed help to prioritise which standards were the most important to align to and why.

With a daunting goal of reaching net zero by 2045 with annual accountability, the Code gives clients and their supply chain a simple framework to examine and test their carbon reduction ambitions and activities. Clients can assess suppliers on a ‘level playing field’ and it is free to sign up.

The Code was started with a CSIC cross industry working group of over 30 professionals from across the sector. NACF members were part of a core group that trialled the initial draft of the Code, along with the Environment Agency and Skanska on behalf of the Skanska Costain STRABG Joint Venture (SCSJV) for HS2. It was fully launched around COP 26 in November 2021.

Members of the NACF sustainability group continue to play an active part in the ongoing management and development of the Code. As Chris Clarke, of SCAPE, and our sustainability co-convenor notes, “Being an active participant enables us to articulate to the wider code team what our clients are looking for and what we value as public sector procurers.”

The promotion of the code has encouraged the sign up of key contractors from our framework supply chains, who now also contribute to the promotion and development of the code with their supply chain business.