Challenges

Smart sustainability monitor in the contract phase of procurement Sustainability

City of Amsterdam

The City of Amsterdam procures goods and services to a value of €2.5 billion per year. This is an opportunity for us to make a difference. To set a good example for the city, we want to increase the demand for sustainable solutions in the market.

 

To achieve this, we have clear sustainability ambitions, as expressed in the Coalition Agreement, for example, and the city’s targets and programmes on circularity and phasing out natural gas. We also report annually on the Implementation Agenda ‘Towards a Sustainable Organisation 2020-2030’, describing the measures on sustainability that have been taken within the municipal organisation and assessing if we are on track with regard to achieving our climate goals. One of the measures is aimed at sustainable and circular procurement. The municipality has made agreements on this within the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA), setting targets of 20% circular procurement by 2022 and 50% by 2025.

 

5 Climate goals for 2030 from the ‘Sustainable Organisation’ Implementation Agenda

 

  1. Maximum reduction in the use of energy and maximum power generation
  2. CO2-neutral business operations by 2030
  3. Circular business operations by 2030
  4. Climate-proof buildings and grounds
  5. A sustainable way of thinking and acting

 

The five climate goals are increasingly taken into consideration during the procurement of goods and services, only to disappear from the picture during the contract phase. As a result, when the goods or services are delivered during the contract phase, no data is available on the procurement criteria that have been set and the effect on our sustainability goals. We want to safeguard such data during both the procurement and the contract phase. In addition, we want to be able to report clearly on sustainability regarding different contracts.

 

The assignment for startups:

Develop a system in which we can easily and clearly monitor our specific sustainability objectives for procurement during the contract period. This means that it must be possible to ensure that criteria and requirements for sustainability set during the procurement process are met during the contract phase.

 

Criteria:

  • The system can be expanded: at minimum, climate targets 1, 2 and 3 are to be included, namely: maximum reduction in energy use and maximum power generation, CO2-neutrality, and circularity in purchasing.
  • The system must be in Dutch and user-friendly.
  • External parties must also have access to the system or parts of it, for example so that suppliers can enter data into the system themselves.
  • Definitions of climate targets must match those of the municipality.
  • It must eventually be possible to link the system with systems within the municipality (Amsterdam Digitale Werkplek, ADW)

 

Issued by:

The Green Office, City of Amsterdam