London Wider Waste Strategy - London - Greater London Authority

4.189. The Mayor’s Green Procurement Code aims to close the loop by encouraging
organisations in the capital to buy products made from recycled materials. London
Remade administers the code, with 9 staff assigned to this area of work. They specialise
in sectors such as London Boroughs, schools and events, the SME sector and the retail
sector. The Code has 320 members to date, at four levels of commitment. Level A1
simply requires attendance at least one event and maintaining contact with London
Remade. Level B2, the highest level, requires providing information about purchasing
to London Remade, setting realistic targets for green purchasing and monitoring
progress towards the targets. London Remade provides tailored advice to Code
members on how they can source green products, and uses the information about
members’ requirements and product specifications to help suppliers to develop products
that meet those requirements.
4.190. A London Remade consultee noted that there has been an evolution of approach in the
Code work towards engaging with the purchase culture rather than just with the
environmental/sustainability culture. Most of the contacts in member organisations are
purchasing officers and the service must be oriented towards meeting their needs.
4.191. London Remade encourages existing members to move upwards through the levels.
Now that sign-up is high, it will prioritise working with existing members and sectors
(‘deepening’ the impact) to improve their commitment to green procurement and
closing the loop by encouraging them to recycle as well. Most new member growth
(‘widening’ the impact) is now organic through referrals or inquiries. London Remade’s
staff capacity has limited its ability to take on large numbers of new members but it has
recently won a tender from the LDA for further development of green procurement and
supply chain development in London. The project runs from 2004-07, with a two-year
extension clause to 2009 subject to performance, and will:
• work with London-based organisations to influence purchasing behaviour to
increase the purchase of recycled content products;
• encourage increased capacity of local manufacturers to incorporate recyclates as
feedstock ;
• meet the demand of identified business sectors that use significant amounts of
products that could incorporate recyclates.
4.192. London Remade is now working to develop sectoral and product priorities for this
expansion of its work.
Recommendation 24: Given the apparent success of the Mayor’s Green Procurement
Code, it is recommended that funding should be maintained subject to a series
good performance targets.
Environmental Management Systems
4.193. Environmental management systems (EMS) were developed in the late 1980s to bring
the management of environmental impacts into the central management of an
organisation. The drivers were largely recognition of the failure of end-of-pipe
solutions to deliver effective pollution control and the need for organisations to exceed
legislative compliance to address contemporary environmental issues. The chemical
industry was a particularly strong force in developing EMS.
4.194. Organisations may seek to develop their own EMS or to follow a recognised standard.
They may then also seek certification to this standard to demonstrate compliance. The
61