ENVIRONMENT POLICIES FM INDUSTRY HAS RECOVERED
6 JULY 2021
SETTING NEW STANDARDS FOR
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
OUTCOMES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
TRACEY RAWLING CHURCH, A PRINCIPLE
CONSULTANT AT ACCLARO
During May and June of 2021 two procurement policy notes and
a procurement policy statement were issued, which represent a
signifi cant change of emphasis in public procurement. Together
they could transform government’s ability to bring forward a just
transition to a low carbon economy. But will they really have the
desired eff ect?
The National Procurement Policy Statement issued in May
2021, and given additional signposting by PPN 05/21, states that
contracting authorities should have regard to national strategic
priorities for public procurement by considering three national
priority outcomes alongside any additional local priorities in their
procurement activities:
• Creating new businesses, new jobs and new skills,
• Tackling climate change and reducing waste, and
• Improving supplier diversity, innovation and resilience.
To some extent this procurement directive overlaps with the New
Social Value Model introduced in PPN 06/20 last September, which
introduced a minimum 10 per cent weighting for Social Value and
narrowed its scope to focus on fi ve key policy themes and eight
policy outcomes. A key diff erence is that the National Procurement
Policy Statement applies to all contracting authorities, whereas
the New Social Value Model applies only to central government
procurement.
The stated aim of the NPPS is to leverage the approximately £290
billion spent by public sector procurement every year to support
the delivery of public sector policy priorities including generating
economic growth, helping communities recover from the COVID-19
pandemic, and supporting the transition to net zero carbon.
Contracting authorities are advised to review their policies and
processes to ensure that they are aligned with these goals, as well as
ensuring they have the skills and capacity to deliver them.
The National Procurement Policy stops short of compelling
purchasers to embed the three national priority outcomes into
their procurements, but the government has stated its intention
to bring forward legislation to make this requirement mandatory
when Parliamentary time allows. Additionally, it intends to require
contracting authorities to publish procurement pipelines and to
benchmark their procurement capability, with target dates of April
2022 for authorities with an annual spend exceeding £200 million
and 12 months later for those spending in excess of £100 million.
The government’s decarbonisation commitment was further
boosted by the issue of PPN 06/21 in June 2021 which requires all
tenderers for central government contracts worth more than £5
million per annum to have published a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP)
that commits to, and outlines the actions put in place to support
the delivery of, a goal of net zero emissions for their UK operations
by 2050 at the latest. CRPs must include scope 1, 2 and a defi ned
group of scope 3 emission, be signed by a senior leader, published
on the company’s website and be in place by September 30th 2021.
Subsequently it must be updated at least annually.
Similar to the Modern Slavery statement, the CRP is something
of a blunt instrument – its very existence is suffi cient to secure
the right to bid, regardless of its level of ambition or, indeed, its
credibility. But it does, at least, compel potential bidders to analyse
and report the carbon emissions of both their own operations and, to
some extent, their supply chain. Like the Modern Slavery Statement,
it is targeted at larger businesses since few SMEs would be equipped
to bid for a contract above the £5 million per annum threshold but
the methodology is equally suitable for smaller companies who
could benefi t from the opportunity to report voluntarily. Acclaro is
already supporting a number of clients to prepare net zero roadmaps
and action plans that will underpin their CRPs.
FROM LOCKDOWN AND IS READY
FOR THE NEW WORKPLACE, SAYS
BCIS FORECAST
The FM industry has largely recovered from the economic downturn brought
about by the lockdowns and is coming to terms with the new working
environment, according to the latest forecast by the Building Cost Information
Service (BCIS) from RICS. However the forecast warns there may be labour
shortages to come.
Where workplaces are shut, essential maintenance will still be required, but
overall, the amount of maintenance work being done will be reduced. Once
workplaces open again, labour costs could go up because of the backlog of
work and sta shortages, but could well fall in the longer term as more sta
become available.
Demand for cleaning is likely to increase over the forecast period, there will
be deep cleaning work as businesses open and sta return to work. In the
longer-term requirements for cleaning are likely to be increased.
Over the forecast period (Q1 2020 to Q1 2026):
Maintenance costs will rise 14 per cent, mainly reflecting wage rises.
Cleaning costs will rise 18 per cent: there will be demand pressures
as workplaces open up and pressure on wages from demand and the
National Living Wage (NLW). Costs are expected to rise 2 per cent in 2021
and by around 4 per cent per annum for the remainder of the forecast.
Energy costs are expected to rise by 19 per cent, driven mainly by the
underlying movement in fossil fuels used in electricity generation.
R&M output is expected to grow just under 13 per cent from 2020 to 2026.
It will recover in 2021 and 2022 as pent up demand and alteration required
by a new working environment push up demand. Output will decline
slightly over the rest of the forecast period.
FIRST DEDICATED DEGREE
APPRENTICESHIP IN FM IS LAUNCHED
The first dedicated degree apprenticeship in facilities management will
be delivered by the University of Bolton having won approval as an IWFM
Recognised Centre to deliver the IWFM Level 6 Extended Diploma as a
dual award with its BSc (Hons) in Facilities and Built Asset Management
programme.
The two
qualifications
are requirements
of the Senior/
Head of Facilities
Management Degree
Apprenticeship
standard. Bolton’s
course, starting this
autumn, is the first
of its kind since the
Level Six Standard
was introduced and it represents an important option to those who want to
study FM at this level as part of an apprenticeship.
IWFM has long advocated the opportunities apprenticeships can o er,
especially in a sector as diverse as workplace and facilities management; and
the Institute has been greatly encouraged by the introduction in recent years of
Levels 2, 4 and 6 to accompany the Level 3 standard.
For more information and/or to register your interest, please contact Peter at:
p.farrell@bolton.ac.uk
NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
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