Sustainable procurement and waste recycling
DECC staff consider energy efficiency and recycled content when buying goods, services and construction materials. DECC has developed a Procurement Tool Kit which includes standard forms and templates, standard DECC tender documents, and staff training material made available on DECC's intranet, and has links to all government websites dealing with sustainable procurement policy and procedures.
To date, 267 staff have been trained in sustainable procurement relating to contracts and tendering. Other initiatives include:
- incorporating sustainability principles into design and construction manuals
- further developing sustainability requirements into DECC supply contracts
- trialling low-toxic chemical alternatives in DECC-managed park amenities and workshops. For example,
- citrus-based cleaners are being trialled in DECC's north coast parks and a lanolin-based waterproofing agent for timber in coastal parks is under development.
DECC prepares a Waste Reduction and Purchasing Policy (WRAPP) report outlining efforts to reduce waste, increase resource recovery (recycling and reuse) and purchase recycled content materials every two years. For the last WRAPP reporting period, DECC:
- purchased 92% of office paper containing recycled content,
- recycled 61% of used office paper
- recycled 91% of vegetation waste
- purchased 67% of construction products with recycled
- content, and recycled 61% of construction and demolition waste.