A Green Party councillor has pushed Fingal County Council to explain what efforts it is making to ensure the goods and services it procures are delivered and produced in an environmentally-friendly and sustainable way.
llr Karen Power (GP) asked the council “if, during the procurement process efforts are made to engage the services of providers who only use environmentally friendly products such as paint and if a process exists, what efforts are being made to ensure it is being adhered to?”
In a written response, the local authority explained to the Green Party councillor: “Where there is a formal procurement process, green eligibility criteria are included as appropriate in tender documentation as well as part of the evaluation process.
“This is in line with the Corporate Procurement Policy which contains a section on sustainable procurement which is informed by current guidance provided in the main by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform through the Office of Government Procurement detailed in their Circular 20/2019 as well as the Environmental Protection Agency the latter of which published Green Public Procurement – Guidance for the Public Sector a couple of months ago.”
Fingal County Council went on to explain: “Recent examples include the textiles concession where, as part of the award criteria, the tenderers had to describe how they intended to ensure that the environmental impact of the project remained as low as possible.”
The council report on the issue concluded: “Where equipment is involved in the delivery of a project, energy consumption details must be provided as part of the tender.
“The council will continue to employ the most appropriate actions in order to comply with all green procurement obligations.”
