Sustainability

The Cayman Islands Government is committed to promoting sustainable development and environmental considerations in its procurement strategy.
 
The objective, where feasible, is to integrate environmental performance specifications into the requirement by applying the 4Rs methodology (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover). 

In the context of the procurement, whole life cycle analysis should be applied which takes into consideration all costs associated with the life of the goods or services such as environmental impacts, acquisition, maintenance, repair, and disposal.  For example, while one good may be cheaper initially than another, taking into consideration its life cycle may prove that the costs associated with the life of the good may be disproportionately higher.

 When planning your procurement, consider:

  • reviewing whether the purchase can be satisfied in-house rather than initiating a procurement;
  • identifying in the specifications where less materials or packaging may be specified or whether more suitable packing materials could be used, i.e. recyclable packaging material over polystyrene;
  • specifying eco-labeling, a method of environmental performance certification practiced around the world;
  • reviewing the needs for consumables, spares, and maintenance;
  • mapping the delivery distance for use of fuel energy;
  • re-usability of the product; and
  • the disposal or removal when finished.

Public Officials engaged in procurement are encouraged to buy those goods and services that are better for the environment than other products with similar performance. The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council has an excellent worksheet for addressing challenges to leadership in Sustainable Purchasing at this website.

As of Septmber 2019, over 500,000 pages paper avoided through electronic bid submissions

Here is a graphical representation of the October 2017 numbers for comparison. 

Ethical Sourcing