The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has published new guidance for public sector procurement teams on buying environmentally friendly hardware and software.
Titled Buying Greener Technology in the UK and produced with digital advisory firm Public, it includes advice on embedding environmental criteria in tenders for technology solutions.
CCS said that a survey conducted for the development of the guide revealed that 70% of public sector procurement staff do not currently take account of environmental factors in their purchasing decisions, and that 80% felt there is insufficient guidance on doing so.
It said existing policies relation to carbon reduction plans and social value offer useful frameworks for green procurement, but that it found buyers would value more guidance for tech procurement.
Currently, the technology sector accounts for an estimated 2% to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and it is estimated that by 2040 the number could reach 14%, which is almost as much carbon as that emitted by air, land, and sea transport combined.
Small changes, big differences
“Small changes in how we purchase technology and use it can lead to big differences,” CCS said, adding that even software has growing environmental consequences due to the amount of energy it uses – which is increasing as AI becomes a major fixture.
The guide includes a section on ensuring that tenders take account of environmental factors, explaining requirements and award criteria, and considerations for open competitions, multi-stage procedures and framework agreements.
Other sections cover the relevant steps in buying hardware products and software systems and applications. The latter makes the point that the software industry is still developing methods to regularly measure the carbon emissions of its products, but that criteria can be included in tenders to encourage them to begin measuring and reporting their energy usages.
“By choosing energy-efficient hardware and encouraging suppliers to assess the environmental impact of their software, organisations can promote the development of more sustainable solutions,” the document says.
