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CITY OF VANCOUVER POLICY REPORT
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Date: |
December 6, 2004 | |
Author: |
Terry Corrigan | |
Phone No.: |
7225 | |
RTS No.: |
RTS 4630 | |
CC File No.: |
6001 | |
Meeting Date: |
December 16, 2004 |
TO: |
Standing Committee on Planning and Environment |
FROM: |
General Manager of Corporate Services |
SUBJECT: |
Ethical and Sustainable Purchasing Policy |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT City Council receive the Ethical Purchasing Policy Task Force Report on a recommended Ethical Purchasing Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct for the City of Vancouver.
B. THAT Council direct staff to report back early in 2005 on the impact on the City's operations including potential costs and resource requirements for implementing the Ethical Purchasing Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct as recommended by the Task Force and the development of a comprehensive Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy that incorporates broader environmental and social objectives.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager recommends deferral of consideration of the Ethical Purchasing Policy Task Force Report pending a report back by staff on the impact on the City's operations and resource requirements for implementing the EPP as well as the development of a comprehensive Sustainable and Ethical Purchasing Policy that incorporates broader environmental and social objectives as Phase II of the Council resolution of June 22, 2004
COUNCIL POLICY
Council policies indirectly related to the issue of sustainable and ethical procurement include:
_ Corporate Climate Change Action Plan
_ Council adoption of the Energy Efficient Purchasing Policy on November 2, 2004
_ Contracts Goods and Services Policy - Environmentally Sound Purchasing
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
This report is submitted in response to Council direction to develop a Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy by December, 2004. It presents an EPP and SCC for the City and a framework for implementation developed by the Ethical Purchasing Policy Task Force (Task Force) regarding the purchase of apparel and fair trade agricultural products as part of Phase I of the Development of a Sustainable and Ethical Purchasing Policy for the City.
BACKGROUND
On April 8, 2004, Council declared "its intention to implement a Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy for the City of Vancouver before the end of the 2004 calendar year", and resolved that "appropriate City staff be directed to report to Council within two months of the passage of this resolution on questions related to implementation of such a policy for City purchases of apparel, coffee and related items".
On June 22, 2004 Council received a report summarizing the implications of developing a Sustainable and Ethical Purchasing Policy. Council approved the following recommendations stemming from that report:
A. THAT Council, as Phase I of the development of a Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy, create a task force to prepare and present a draft policy to Council on the purchase of apparel and fair trade agricultural products. The task force shall be co-chaired by Councillors Louie and Louis and be composed of City staff as well as members of the business, labour and NGO's communities. The policy is to be based on best practices of similar organizations and to be implemented by December, 2004. Staff will also report on resources required to implement the policy.
B. THAT Council direct staff to report back by December, 2004 on the resource requirements for developing and implementing a comprehensive Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy that incorporates broader environmental and social objectives.
C. THAT Council direct staff to purchase fair trade certified coffee, at the expiration of current contracts, and where there are no contracts, as soon as is practicable.
DISCUSSION
The Task Force was formed in August 2004 through invitation from Co-Chairs Councillor Louis and Louie, and held three meetings between early September and the middle of November 2004. Approximately 12 representatives from the NGO, labour and business community worked with City staff from to create a recommended Ethical Purchasing Policy and implementation framework. Representatives from Vancouver Park Board and Vancouver Public Library as well as the Vancouver Food Policy Committee participated on the Task Force. (A membership list of the Task Force is included in Appendix C).
The Task Force was facilitated by an external project consultant who assisted in the coordination of the group, development of background materials and played the role of facilitator at each of the three meetings. The consultant worked on behalf of the Task Force to draft and refine the policy, implementation framework and their report to Council. The Task Force also retained the services of an internationally respected labour and human rights organization, Verite Inc., to provide an independent review of the policy and implementation framework and to assess the completeness of the work. Their review was positive and helpful in guiding the final refinements to the policy and highlighting considerations relating to implementation.
A full discussion of the EPP is contained within the Task Force Report to Council (Appendix A) which includes details on the mandate of the Task Force, guiding policy principles and a description of key features and elements of the EPP. The report contains several recommendations of the Task Force including:
1. THAT Council approve the recommended Ethical Purchasing Policy and accompanying Supplier Code of Conduct.
2. THAT sufficient resources be allocated to build internal capacity to manage the policy including a program for staff training.
3. THAT Council approve a Phase II work plan to be conducted in 2005 to develop additional sustainable purchasing policies.
4. THAT the EPP be copied directly to the other municipalities in the GVRD, the GVRD, the Vancouver School Board, and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Committee and with encouragement from the City that these groups to adopt an EPP of their own, offering this one as a model.
5. THAT the staff who worked on this policy continue to provide advice to other interested parties upon reasonable request.
6. THAT staff revisit the issue of "Living Wages" as a potential future component of the EPP during the annual review process.
7. THAT the City of Vancouver continues to call upon the group as an advisory body during the policy implementation phase.
Phase I - Ethical Purchasing Policy Summary
The recommended Ethical Purchasing Policy requires that City suppliers of apparel ensure that workplace standards in their factories and production facilities meet minimum standards for safety and human rights. The implementation framework is based upon a set of guiding principles that call for suppliers to:
· abide by a City defined minimum set of performance standards called the Supplier Code of Conduct (SCC), and
to disclose information on the location of factories and production facilities.
Assessment of EPP Task Force recommendations:
The Task Force expressed a strong desire to ensure that key sustainability considerations (e.g. environmental performance) were embedded within City Purchasing Policy and given due consideration in Phase II. Implementation of the recommended EPP and the development of a comprehensive Sustainable and Ethical Purchasing Policy as Phase II need to be closely integrated.
As directed by Council on June 22, 2004, staff will report back on the impacts of the Task Force's recommendations on City operations and the resources required to implement the recommended policy. At the same time, staff will report on resources required to develop a comprehensive Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy that incorporates broader environmental and social objectives as Phase II of the Council directive of June 22, 2004.
CONCLUSION
The Ethical Purchasing Task Force report and recommended Ethical Purchasing Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct effectively completes Phase I of the Council direction for the development of an Ethical and Sustainable Purchasing Policy for the City. Staff will report back on the impacts of the recommended policy on City operations and the resources required for implementation. At the same time, because the EPP will be the base and integrated with a comprehensive Sustainable and Ethical Purchasing Policy, staff will report back at the same time on resources required to complete Phase II.
APPENDICES
Appendix A - EPP Task Force Report and Recommendations
Appendix B - Draft Ethical Purchasing Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct
Appendix C - Ethical Purchasing Policy Task Force Membership List
Appendix D - Verite Independent Policy Review
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