Establish an enabling environment
Build support and capabilities
Open data & measuring progress
There are different ways in which open data can be used to drive and measure progress against sustainability goals. Below we include ten different ways in which you can gather and use data to measure and monitor sustainability in procurement.
<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/e18df93f-7ace-4060-8485-ce787918afdb/Icons_yellow3_(1).png" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/e18df93f-7ace-4060-8485-ce787918afdb/Icons_yellow3_(1).png" width="40px" /> The options presented on this section can be used to gather data and measure progress against the sustainability goals included within our sample M&E framework and developed as worked examples in this section. For each option, we have included guidance on how it can be applied depending on your capacity (i.e. no code, low code, code). You can access and download the table with the whole set of data use options here:
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As we introduce in our Green Flags guide, one of the key ways in which you can use data to measure SPP efforts is by tagging all the procurement processes which are classified as SPP. At the simplest level this can be achieved through a tag for procurements signposting SPP. This can be expanded, such as having specific tags for carbon, women-owned, or SME contracts. This can also be applied retrospectively through machine learning analysis of specification documents.
Doing this will require establishing a clear definition of which contracts fall within each of these categories. For example, if you have created standard sustainability specifications for the procurement of paper, then you can establish that all contracts which include these specifications should be tagged as “SPP”.
Data use options depending on your capacity:
| No code | Low code | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option 1: Assign tags to procurements | Manually sift through procurement notices and make a judgement call on whether or not its SPP. |
Mandate authorities release a flag highlighting that a procurement is SPP. | Release a flag for SPP procurement on contract registers | Use machine learning to programmatically identify whether or not a notice is SPP from its specifications. Apply this retrospectively to increase the scope for analysis. |
Through manual or programmatic analysis of data, alerts can be created and used by contracting authorities to encourage uptake of SPP initiatives and performance. Analysis can be compiled into dashboards to show data on sectors, buyers, suppliers and categories, including top and bottom 10 rankings, as in this example from Lithuania.
Data use options depending on your capacity:
| No code | Low code | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option 2: Boost performance to policy through alerts | Manually analyze SPP procurement identified in Option 1 and contact buyers to ask why they have not complied. | Use analytics tools to identify SPP procurement and to contact buyers such as the Lithuanian government’s green procurement dashboard | |
| (see also case study). | Use machine learning to automatically ingest and analyze procurement data and specifications based on parameters (whether an organization is in scope, whether a notice is duplicated) and to send reminder alerts to buyers who perform less well. |
Buyers can measure the value and number of SPP related contracts awarded to suppliers according to location, size, industry, or otherwise. This will help to build a firm evidence base relating to SPP outcomes and impact as a whole (evidence which can be used against claims that it delivers less value for money, or it only favors larger companies). Analysis can also extend towards categories, such as whether health and social care are more equitable in gender pay, or analyses of regional trends such as unemployment and demographics.
Data use options depending on your capacity:
| No code | Low code | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option 3: Analyze contracts awarded | Track and monitor contracts awarded on simple spreadsheets and common analytics tools (e.g. Excel). |
Use tools such as Silver Eye to turn this data into OCDS. | Create dashboards that allow analysis of buyers, suppliers, categories., etc.
Create flags on contracts registers or portals for key economic indicators: e.g. minority owned businesses or SMEs. | Link to contracts award data to other metrics, such as spend data, quality metrics from regulator data (for healthcare or education settings). |
Estimating the potential impact that a contract might have can help shape the requirements set for suppliers. This can include for example estimating carbon emissions associated to the contract, the predicted waste generation, or the associated life cycle costs of the asset you are procuring. This data can be gathered through existing mechanisms for measuring impact (e.g. predictive carbon emission calculation) or by looking at historic contract data to forecast life cycle costs. You can then use this forecast as the basis for setting a carbon “budget” (i.e. permitted emissions associated with a contract), or to calculate tender value based on life cycle costs.
Data use options depending on your capacity:
| No code | Low code | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option 4: Forecast contract impact | Research official mechanisms for measuring sustainability impact (e.g. carbon emissions or life cycle costing). Is there data (local or international) that can be collected in a spreadsheet? | Research official mechanisms for measuring sustainability impact (e.g. carbon emissions or life cycle costing). Is there data (local or international) that can be added to a database and linked to contracts? | Build a model that assigns every contract a sustainability impact score or value (e.g. carbon emission or life cycle costing) based on the nature of supply. |
This is as simple as giving your buying teams the capacity to flag a contract opportunity as a competition in which suppliers are encouraged to detail how they will deliver against specific sustainability goals. This can include, for example, how they will reduce carbon emissions, how they will support gender equality through commitment to recognised schemes (e.g. grants to women in tech, etc.), or how they will support the local economy through job creation.
Data use options depending on your capacity:
| No code | Low code | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option 5: Request sustainability suggestions | Work with buyers to set out standard terms to encourage sustainability suggestions (e.g low carbon alternatives) in contract opportunities. | Explore upgrading existing contract opportunities websites to include a flag (e.g. “low carbon“) for opportunities that are seeking sustainability alternatives. | Set out a specification for a feature that requires suppliers to detail how they plan to be more sustainable (e.g. reduce carbon during a contract). |
Some industries already have standards for products and principles that lead to more sustainable impacts. These standards can be co-opted for use by buyers when specifying and reporting on sustainability performance. Including the need to meet standards can be added to specifications and their impact can be calculated using publicly available models.
It is important to note that there are different types of environmental labels and certifications. For example, certifications which provide a more detailed account of the carbon emissions associated with a specific product are those categorized as Type III ecolabels by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In this group we find Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). See, for example, this EPD for a product made of steel. Other types of certifications, such as Type I ecolabels, are helpful to identify environmentally preferable products, but don’t usually provide concrete data on carbon emissions. Similarly, certifications which attest to the supplier’s sustainability efforts, such as ISO or B Corporation certifications, don’t provide information on the associated emissions of the procured service or product. For more information on the different ways in which these certifications can be used within SPP see this section.
Data use options depending on your capacity:
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