UK government announces a Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement

The UK government has announced a sustainability centre of excellence following the Sustainable Development in Government report published 18th March 2008. The Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement (CESP) will be established within the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) alongside the Government's Chief Sustainability Officer and help Whitehall departments achieve their targets for reducing carbon emissions and waste across the government estate.

Sir Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary has made sustainability of the government estate one of his four priorities for the civil service and suggested that “There is still a long way to go but the establishment of the Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement marks the culmination of significant progress over the last twelve months. This central co-ordination and guidance will help all government departments work to deliver sustainable working practices for the future.”

Currently, the Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement's activities are being developed and will be published by the end of Summer 2008. It is likely that CESP will focus on delivering Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets such as waste, carbon emissions and water consumption as well as the 'Quick Wins',  a set of minimum environmental standards covering a range of commonly-purchased goods, including IT equipment, white goods and paper.

The Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) will work alongside CESP and continue to offer free specialist advice and guidance on timber procurement to all public sector buyers and their suppliers.