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Introduction
The EA has an ongoing requirement to provide staff with uniforms, protective clothing and protective equipment to ensure they are protected whilst fulfilling their jobs and promoting a brand image for the organisation. EA staff requiring protective clothing are: bus drivers, bus escorts grounds maintenance staff, school caretakers, school catering teams, and school based teaching and non-teaching staff working directly with children and young people. The value of this contract is approximately £1.8m over 4 years.
The textiles manufacting industry is deemed a high risk industry with particularly in relation to working conditions and practices i.e. poor working conditions, low wages, child labour and forced labour etc.
Objectives
It was therefore important for EA Commercial Procurement Services (EACPS) in its most recent tender to not only ensure quality and VFM but ensure ethical procurement throughout its supply chain.
The tender process was initiated in line with EA’s Corporate Objectives of ensuring that ‘EA uses resources in a sustainable way’. EA CPS ensured ethical sourcing was central to the procurement strategy and subsequent procurement and contract management documentation. The approach not only met EAs Corporate Objectives but also contributes to NI Executive (NIE) PfG outcome of ‘we live and work sustainably – protecting the environment’.
Actions
A robust procurement strategy was devised that included a formal pre-market engagement (PME) exercise. This early market engagement involved formally inviting suppliers in the clothing and protective equipment markets to provide general market insights and information. It was also used to specifically find out what level of ethical and social considerations the market were using and engage with; a critical consideration to establish a baseline position and to understand current market capabilities and knowledge. As a result of this PME, EA CPS develop the tender into six distinct lots to match market capability and to opportunities for SMEs thus contributing to the Buy Social model and PPN01/21. The PME was also an opportunity to advise the market that ethical and social considerations were integral to the tender process and alert suppliers to enable them to prepare for the upcoming tender opportunity.
Working with SIB, EA CPS devised award criteria i.e. tenderers were required to detail the steps they would take to ensure an ethical approach to contract delivery that would proactively address and if application deliver solutions to modern slavery and human rights within their own organisation and across their supply chains.
Whilst PPN 01/21 (Scoring Social Value) only recommends scoring of social value in service contracts, EA CPS determined given the risks of unethical practices it was important to include this criteria at a value of 25% of the qualitative tender evaluation criteria (10% of overall tender). This approach demonstrates EAs commitment to PPN 05/21 ‘Human Rights in public Procurement’, and ensured the market was aware of the importance EA placed on ethical and social practices in the manufacture and supply of clothing across the entire supply chain.
The market response was very positive and demonstrates this is an important consideration for the industry also and it was clear from responses to the tender that significant progress had been made to combat unethical supply chain processes and practices. The appointed contractors demonstrated understanding, application and commitment to international and national accreditations and affiliations (e.g. ETI, SEDEX, WRAP), as well as having their own policies to support and underpin the ethical requirements of this contract.
The supplier is required to provide their supply chain mapping, their Ethical Supply Chain Strategy and annual reports detailing ethical actions during the contract period. In addition they had to provide named key contacts who will be responsible for the delivery of their ethical commitments as well as commitments to delivering training on supply chains, modern slavery, recruitment practices, paying suppliers on time, promote whistleblowing, hosting cultural awareness events and quarterly monitoring all of which will assist to promote fair and ethical working practices throughout supply chain. These commitments are monitored by EA CPS to ensure they are delivered and that EA’s uniforms, protective clothing and equipment is sourced and produced with the highest possible ethical standards.
Conclusion
This tender process highlighted to the EA that those suppliers who took a serious stance and proactively engaged in ethical and modern human rights practices were in fact very competitive commercially when compared with suppliers who did not. Overall EA are benefitting from high quality products which have been produced and sourced with ethical practices at the forefront of the contract as well as securing some financial benefits evidencing the commercial viability of buying ethically manufactured products and social considerations. In addition this contract demonstrates the effectiveness of social clauses and value in supply contracts.
The EA CPS has delivered a contract that contributes to both the EA’s Corporate Objectives, the NIEs PfG and PPNs 01/21 and 05/21.