Exeter City Council - Green Accord

Case study taken from Ethical Performance Best Practice, issue 13, 2009.

In the Autumn of 2007, suppliers of Exeter City Council were informed that to continue working with the council, they would have to meet environmental accreditation criteria.

Exeter told its suppliers that the new system, called the Green Accord, would not only help the Council achieve its sustainability goals, but could improve the participants' efficiency and cut costs. The council would also provide lsupport.

Under the Accord, suppliers are required to fill out an online self-assessment form that asks them questions about areas such as energy reduction, waste management and recycling. Once the form is completed, they send in evidence to back up their assertions. The Council then audits the self-assessment and, if it feels the company is making sufficient efforts to improve it's environmental impacts, issues a certificate and enters the firm onto an approved suppliers database.

Certified suppliers are rated at three levels, from the lowest red ('select' status) to yellow ('superior') and green ('premier'). They are then encouraged to move through the traffic lights by making continual improvements, using advice and training provided by the council.

Mel Jones, the Council's contract development manager, says a hallmark of the system is it's 'inclusivity', with the labelling of the tiers deliberately positive even at the lowest level, and goals set so that the smallest of companies can become involved. 'It's about doing things, not talking about them,' he says. 'Suppliers are really interested in going from red to green, especially if their competitors are higher than them. And once they get to green that doesn't mean they stop. We give them extra training and support, and a few have even embarked on trying to get other social responsibility accreditations, such as SA8000'.

Companies that are certified to the Accord, which the council developed with the government-backed environmental consultancy organisation Envirowise, are allowed to use publicity material to display their compliance. Some suppliers have begun to use the accreditation to demonstrate their credentials to other customers.

Bernard Keogh, Managing Director of construction company Arque, one of the first contractors to be accredited with the Green Accord, says the scheme has helped him, and many others, change attitudes to the environment. 'Most of us suppliers are interested now in being a bit greener, and the Green Accord was the kick up the backside that we needed', he admits. 


For more information about the Green Accord, click here

For more information about Envirowise visit the website