The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security commissioned CE Delft to assess the climate and social impact of its highest-cost procurement items, providing data for rational choices to improve performance on these issues and, more generally, improve efforts via-à-vis Sustainable Public Procurement.
First we carried out a financial review of ministerial expenditures in 2016 (salaries excluded), yielding a list of categories with the highest cash flow. We then performed a climate Quickscan on the items procured encompassing the entire life cycle to identify where the greatest options for carbon emissions reduction lie.
Together, the expenditures analysed have a climate impact of around 170 kt CO¬2-eq., with gas and electricity procurement contributing most. Catering and construction & maintenance also make a relatively high contribution, with ICT hardware, transport and working apparel contributing less. For each category recommendations are made for reducing climate impact. With energy, for example, steps can be taken to improve energy efficiency and increase use of renewables, while the climate impact of catering can be reduced by replacing meat (particularly beef) and dairy by vegetable products.
Finally, this study gives consideration to areas where social issues like Social Return and Internationale Social Conditions play a role. The former provides scope for contracting out services, while ICT-related product groups and catering are the most relevant for the latter.