London pioneers city-wide carbon reduction across public procurement

Article taken from Trucost.  To view article, click here

London is set to be the first city worldwide to unilaterally reduce its carbon footprint across public procurement thanks to a ground breaking collaboration between Trucost, the global environmental data provider and Capital Ambition, London's Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.

The initiative, funded by Capital Ambition, means 33 London Borough Councils and five other public bodies, the Greater London Authority (GLA), Local Government Association (LGA), London Councils, Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade, will be able to measure and reduce the carbon footprint associated with purchased goods and services. The project also seeks to include other public bodies such as the NHS, Transport for London and the University of London Group.

Capital Ambition project manager Ben Sellar-Moore, said, "How we deliver services and buy goods has a direct impact on our Carbon Footprint. Having commissioned Trucost to assess the region's performance, we will have the information available to start making progress very quickly. The project will identify those suppliers that contribute the most to London's overall footprint so we can focus on areas of high potential, without ever overburdening those suppliers that have a low impact."

"The supply chain offers a significant opportunity to reduce London's carbon footprint. Our analysis regularly shows that an organisation's supply chain is four times as carbon intensive as its own operations" says Saad Rashid, director of research at Trucost. "Working on a project of this scale means that we can identify and support London's most carbon intensive suppliers in making significant reductions to their carbon footprint."

"Carbon emissions are not just an environmental issue, they also reflect a real cost to business", said Paul Druckman, chairman of Trucost. "Our data enables us to identify the service areas where organisations can make the most difference in reducing carbon emissions, improving the overall efficiency of London's procurement and importantly, cutting the cost of service delivery."

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