Procurement’s principal contribution in helping Forest Research achieve its environmental objectives is as an integral part of its Environmental Management System. The purpose of the system for environmental procurement is the identification and management of the risk of negative environmental impacts arising from our use of purchased goods, the performance of the services we procure, and the design and execution of works commissioned in the course of our business.

Our objective is to eliminate, minimise, mitigate, or manage these risks by exerting control or influence over our procurement activity through specific, prescribed measures pertinent to the method of procurement and the nature of the goods, services or works purchased.

Specifically, this will include:

• Grouping goods, services and works into product categories,
• Carrying out category-specific environmental risk assessments, resulting in a risk ranking,
• Developing measures, controls, procedures and checks to manage environmental risk that are relevant and proportionate to the nature and level of risk, and
• A focus on deploying such measures and controls in the product categories with the highest risk ranking.

The risk management measures will, to the extent permitted by law, be applied at the following stages of the procurement process:

• Specification of the goods, services or works required.
• Selection of Suppliers for inclusion on tender lists/to supply quotes.
• Tendering and evaluation including the content of tenders and criteria for bid evaluation and contract award.
• Contract management including compliance checks and verification.

This policy will be communicated to our suppliers and employees by publishing it on our website and intranet respectively. It will be implemented through our Procedure for Environmental Procurement (a Forest Research-specific procedural supplement to Operational Guidance Book OGB3aa ‘Buying Goods, Works, and Services’).

Download the signed Environmental Procurement Policy ^{[PDF, 137 KB]}