SCC - WH - RFQ - Supply Chain Carbon Accounting Solution

In 2019, Surrey County Council (SCC) declared a climate change emergency and committed itself to becoming a net zero carbon county by 2050 or sooner. Whilst addressing direct organisational emissions is usually a visible and distinct process, dealing with Scope 3 emissions involves activities that reside outside the immediate sphere of organisational influence, complicating the decarbonisation process. The procurement of goods and services has been identified as a strategic priority by the Council to reducing carbon emissions (emissions within the Scope 3 Purchased Goods and Services category of the GHG Protocol).

Having previously completed a supply chain carbon baselining exercise, it was found that a significant portion of the Council's total emissions reside within the supply chain (up to 95%). This analysis used the Council's procurement spend together with Extended Environmental Input-Output (EEIO) factors. This methodology has several accuracy limitations and most critically, does not gather information directly from suppliers so their decarbonisation efforts would not be accounted for using this methodology. Previous engagement with our suppliers has also indicated that many are not yet at the point of maturity to calculate their own emissions. The Council is therefore looking to procure a solution that will provide visibility to supply chain carbon emissions using data directly from suppliers whilst supporting those that currently do not have a suitable methodology to measure their own emissions.

SCC is part of a shared public procurement service known as Orbis Procurement. This partnership encourages collaboration between Surrey, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC). The results of this initiative may be shared with our Orbis partners who may look to run a similar initiative in future. For the avoidance of doubt, this procurement does not include licences for East Sussex County Council or Brighton and Hove City Council. However, either of the Councils reserve the right to enter a contract under these arrangements as long as the total combined contract value does not exceed the relevant regulatory procurement threshold.