The UK Government's Sustainable Procurement Action Plan (March 2007) identified ways of harnessing public sector purchasing power, such as Forward Commitment Procurement, to make innovative and sustainable solutions more widely available and affordable to others and to deliver a low carbon economy.
Forward Commitment Procurement was highlighted in the Government publication Building a low carbon economy: unlocking innovation and skills (May 2008) issued in response to the CEMEP (Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance) report. This document sets out how Government will make the UK one of the best locations in the world to develop and introduce low-carbon and resource-efficient products, processes, services and business models. The Commission specifically emphasised Forward Commitment Procurement as an important means of creating demand pull for environmental innovations.
The Forward Commitment Procurement (FCP) model provides a practical and proven means to enable public sector organisations to stimulate and harness innovation for the public good and achieve a step change in environmental performance. It does this by transforming the market for innovative and sustainable solutions, making new and emerging solutions more affordable and widely available, and providing a way for the public sector to manage the risk of procuring innovative products and services.
Innovation for Sustainability Competition
DIUS launched an Innovation for Sustainability Competition with the aim of increasing awareness and access to this valuable tool and supporting a select number of innovative flagship projects that can be picked up and replicated across the public sector. These projects will receive the support and advice to implement an 'Innovation for Sustainability' FCP project and develop in-house FCP capability. Access to funding streams for technical support and lead market deployment will also be provided.
Those projects to be developed further were announced by Lord Drayson at a House of Lords Reception on 7th July 2009.
Click here for project overviews
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