Sustainability Policy

Our Aims and Objectives are:

• Minimise our environmental impact and deliver community benefits through better selection and improved usage of products and services;
  Foster innovation in our supply markets to increase the availability and effectiveness of solutions that meet our organizational requirements;
• Encourage our suppliers to adopt practices that minimise their environmental impact and deliver community benefits in relation to their own operations and throughout the supply chains in which they operate 
• Work in partnership with suppliers to achieve our common goals and continually improve performance over time.

Supplier Code of Conduct

As the contracting organisation, we expect our suppliers to ensure their practices are supportive of our approach. We expect to purchase goods and services that have been produced or are delivered with minimum impact on the environment and with due regard for social issues such as employment conditions and welfare. As a result, ERSG reserves the right to refuse partnerships with organisations that do not achieve (or are unable to provide evidence of an action plan to address) the following minimum standards for their operations, employees and supply chain, in accordance with International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions and other public sector commitments.

Specific Targets

The UK government has identified climate change as a key policy priority in order that future generations are able to enjoy their natural environment. To realise this goal, the government has mandated several procurement policies which ERSG is obliged to adopt. As a result, ERSG will, in its purchasing decisions, give preference to:

1. Any product which meets the specifications listed in the governmental Quick Wins List
2. Any product, service or supplier which can support the following objectives:

• A reduction in carbon emissions 
• An increase in energy efficiency p/m2
• The reduction of waste arising
• An increase in recycling figures
• A reduction in water consumption by 25% on estate

Environment

Processes are in place to actively improve the efficiency with which finite resources (such as energy, water, raw materials) are used and the release of harmful emissions to the environment associated with manufacture, use and end-of-life product management are minimised.

ERSG’s Working Principles

• Our main focus will be on supply markets which have the largest environmental/social impacts by virtue of the size of our expenditure (i.e. top 10) and/or sustainability risks (i.e. specific and identifiable environment and/or social impacts regardless of size of expenditure);
• We will ensure all key procurement decisions and actions are considered and determined by a cross-functional team of in-house specialists to ensure the most sustainable outcomes are achieved; Appropriate environmental and social requirements will be integrated into all procurement activities, e.g. pre-qualification, specification and evaluation stage.
• As far as possible, all tenders will be evaluated to take into account the environmental and/or social impacts of a particular product or service over its whole-life cycle, and This document provides examples only. Organisations should develop their own templates to relate to their working practices appropriate supplier sustainability performance assessment criteria and weightings will be used.
• We will adopt a pragmatic approach to encouraging and influencing our suppliers to
  improve their sustainability practice;
• Whilst this policy applies to all ERSG’s suppliers, we will strive to ensure that it does not place unnecessary and over burdensome requirements on small to medium enterprises (SME), putting them at a disadvantage in doing business with us.
• As required, we will establish performance agreements with our key strategic suppliers, monitor their progress over time, and provide them with regular and constructive feedback.
• As far as possible, we will conduct our procurement activities to support and deliver
  community benefits (e.g. recruitment of the long-term unemployed, skills development), and will work in partnership with other organisations to achieve this.

Accountability

• All ERSG offices and relevant members of staff have shared responsibility for integrating the provisions of this policy into their decision-making.
• In recognition of the need to support ERSG offices and their staff in their decision-making, the central procurement team is charged with the overall accountability for developing a coordinated and integrated approach to implementing this policy across the whole of ERSG
• We will review this policy and associated procedures on an annual basis and involve our suppliers in this process;
• We will verify, using external assessors, our performance against this policy whenever possible.
• We will monitor and report where appropriate the environmental and social outcomes achieved from the application of our policy across our operations; and
• We will report on our progress in implementing this policy to the management board,
  Board of Directors and publicly to our key stakeholders on an annual basis.

Signed: Jim Ryan (CEO)
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF ERSG