Climate Change Commercial Ask

How our suppliers and their supply chain can work with us to meet our Climate Change Commercial Ask.

On 21 March 2019 councillors at Suffolk County Council voted to declare a climate emergency, and in July 2020 Cabinet agreed a set of recommended actions arising from the work of a Policy Development Panel. 

Suffolk County Council aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. Through practical action it aims to save money, generate income and reduce carbon emissions to net zero for its own operations and services.

We want to ensure the environmental impact of the Council’s procurement of goods, services and works is minimised in line with our response to the climate emergency.

We ask suppliers and their supply chain to work with us to meet our Climate Change Commercial Ask (PDF).

We will include environmental factors in the specification of requirements for goods, services and works.  We will also include Social Value environmental benefits in the evaluation criteria of our tenders and quotations.

We also have guidance for our staff in commercial roles regarding what to consider when working with our contractors to mitigate the environmental impact of our contracts. 

Help available to reduce your environmental impact

The Carbon Charter is an accreditation recognising businesses for effective environmental management. carboncharter.org includes a wealth of resources available to all businesses, providing support and guidance on carbon reduction and related activities, including the following key guidance. 

Free Climate Change e-learning now available is designed for anyone wishing to learn more about the effects of climate change and is suitable for businesses looking to offer climate awareness training to staff.  The e-learning has been funded by Suffolk County Council. 

Further Resources Available

For further information regarding the Climate Change Commercial Ask contact

procurementbusinesssupport@suffolk.gov.uk