Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) The Mauritian Experience By S Tahalooa Balaclava, Mauritius
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Objectives of Public Procurement*
Value for money in procurement of goods, works and services Integrity avoiding corruption and conflicts of interest Accountability Equal Opportunities and equal treatment for providers Fair treatment for providers Efficiency in the procurement process
* Sue Arrowsmith Secondary Policies
Harness Government Procurement power to support some policy goals that are not directly linked directly to the goods, works and services procured: o Industrial policies o Social policies o Environmental policies 3 Industrial Policies Procurement can be used to promote industrial development: Buy national (e.g Buy America Legislation) Price preference for domestic contents Strategic intervention: supporting industries in disadvantaged or declining regions, national security 4 Social Policies Supporting policies of a non-economic nature: Promoting equal opportunities for those disadvantaged by gender or by ethnic group Promoting fair labour standards by government contractors and their sub- contractors Promoting employment opportunities for long- term unemployed persons 5 Environmental Policies Using public procurement to support environmental objectives:
oAddress climate change oPreserve bio-diversity oE.g Procurement of products with particular environmental features like energy efficiency 6 Sustainable Public Procurement* Sustainable Procurement is a process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment
UK SP Task Force and MTF SPP Task Force, 2006
7 Implementing SPP in Mauritius The Prime Minister promoted a concept known as Maurice Ile Durable [Mauritius Sustainable Island] Through the National Policy framework of 2007 a policy framework for promoting Sustainable Consumption at national level has been devised In 2008 the Government requested UNEP for Mauritius to be a pilot country for SPP implementation and UNEP approved Procurement Policy Office selected as the National Focus Point for implementing SPP
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Strategic priorities of SCP programme framework
Resources Use Efficiency with a Focus on Energy , Water and Sustainable Buildings and Construction Education and Communication for Sustainable Lifestyles Integrated Solid Waste management and Recycling Sustainable Public Service Practices* Increase Market Supply and Demand for Sustainable Products
* Sustainable Public Procurement falls under this priority
9 SPP Marrakech Process
1 0 Implementation Process Setting up of a steering committee under the chairmanship of the Director, PPO All major stakeholders involved Technical support of UNEP critical Hiring of consultants where required 1 1 Status Assessment
Status Assessment completed in 2009 Assessment revealed that generally Mauritius does not consider sustainable criteria in public procurement
1 2 Status Assessment
Legal environment conducive for SPP implementation: o A sound procurement system o Mauritius has ratified most international conventions related to environment, labour conditions, human right o Evaluation of suppliers based on price and non-price factors o Contract management is carried out o Suppliers are engaged
1 3 Market Readiness Analysis (TOR)
Determine availability and market share of the targeted sustainable products /services Establish whether the targeted products are available in the local market Determine the number of SMEs and/or large enterprises involved in the fabrication or import of the targeted products Explore the prospects for in-country supply of new sustainable products and services Establish whether the goods and services are available in the international market and impacts of importation
1 4 Market Readiness Analysis (TOR 2)
Catalogue current instruments and tools available to certify and verify the sustainability of the products Assess national programmes, policies and/or instruments which currently exist to promote sus-tainable production in the targeted sectors Determine the extent to which companies in the targeted sector have environmental management systems and/or other sustainable development credentials in place; and finally Explore the prospects for development of the in-country market to supply the international market.
1 5 Market Readiness Analysis-Methodology
A three-stage approach was adopted so as to obtain the best results:
Discussions with PPO to clarify some aspects of the TORs Collection and preliminary analysis of procurement data for 2008 and 1st semester of 2009 Examination of the national public procurement system Discussions with a few stakeholders An extensive review of literature on sustainable public procurement.
Carrying out a prioritization study, based on UKs Sustainable Procurement Task Force Methodology to identify the largest, quickest and easiest sustainable procurement opportunities
Survey the market to evaluate the availability of targeted products and services in the priority areas, and the national conformity assessment infrastructure
1 9 Market Readiness Analysis
Recommendations (Priority spend areas): Buildings Waste collection and disposal Roads Construction Wastewater Management Food and Catering Water Supply: Works and Maintenance Energy: Plants and Equipment IT Systems: Computers and Office Machinery IT; Computerization and System maintenance Paper and Printing
2 0 Market Readiness Analysis
Quick wins: IT SYSTEMS: COMPUTERS & OFFICE MA-CHINERY IT: COMPUTERISATION & SYSTEMS AINTENANCE FOOD AND CATERING; and PAPER and PRINTING
Pioneer: CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS
Challenging Remaining five
2 1 Policy Statement
The Policy Statement is an official commitment of Government of Mauritius to observe the principles of sustainability in the conduct of public procurement 2 2 Action Plan 2011-2015 A national and an international consultant with the support of PPO has developed the SPP Strategy and Action Plan
A phased approach recommended
Quick wins: Paper, vehicles and ICT 2 3 Procurement of Vehicles using sustainable criteria Objectives: purchase vehicles that are fuel efficient and emit less CO2 Methodology: o Setting a minimum level of CO2 emission o Applying LCC (Acquisition costs, operating costs and Residual value) Wide consultation with key stakeholders 2 4 Challenges LCC concept not fully conversant Perception that SPP is completely different from traditional procurement Difficult to estimate the price after useful life of the vehicles Fear of high price of vehicles Fear that bidders not making offer Non availability of data for CO2 emission
2 5 Lessons Learned To carry out pilot test with a minimum quantity and where availability of the item is not critical Awareness to key stakeholders critical Any new concept (e.g LCC) clearly explained to key stakeholders Such initiatives should be undertaken: Lessons learned are optimal 2 6 Future of SPP Strategic importance of Procurement Concern for environment protection increasing Concern for social factors Increasingly government pursuing its policies through Public Procurement Best practices and tools emerging in SPP