The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organisation which claims to hold the largest database of corporate climate change information in the world. Its first Public Procurement report released today reveals the power of the public sector to use procurement to transform the UK to a low carbon economy. Central and local government has collaborated through CDP to encourage its suppliers to measure, manage and report their greenhouse gas emissions, climate change related risks and opportunities and information on associated management strategy.

CDP claims this provides a clear message to suppliers to the UK public sector that action on climate change has become a necessary part of business. The public sector has considerable purchasing power. In the UK, public procurement amounts to £150 billion per annum with about £60 billion spent on goods and services by central government and the wider public sector spending a further £90 billion. In the EU as a whole, the public budget amounts to about 16% of total GDP.

Eight organisations including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Office of Government Commerce and the Victoria and Albert Museum received completed climate change reports from 238 suppliers, based largely in the UK. This information enables public sector organisations to start to quantify emissions generated by suppliers, to better understand the associated risks and opportunities and to build a robust and resilient supply chain.

Lord Hunt, Minister of State for Sustainable Development at Defra: “The CDP’s public procurement project has been an important step for both public sector organisations and their suppliers. It has not only helped us to understand how our suppliers are reducing their carbon emissions, but also how they are dealing with the risks posed by climate change.  I am really pleased that Defra has such a high rate of suppliers who provided the information. It has shown that we can have a real impact on global emissions levels by using low carbon suppliers. This will help us to make procurement choices in future which will help fight damaging climate change.”