ICLEI Member Rotterdam has released a Socially Responsible Procurement Action Plan. The plan, approved in December 2017 by the Executive Board, describes the way in which the city puts into action the agreements from the Socially Responsible Procurement Manifesto, a scheme developed by PIANOo, on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The starting point is the effective and efficient use of the purchasing function for social policy objectives, such as employment and a clean environment.

When companies receive an order, Rotterdam sets social conditions, so that jobs, traineeships and apprenticeships become available to people with a disadvantage in the labour market.

Environmental aspects also form part of the commitments. Since 2008, contractors have to meet environmental requirements for the use of trucks and construction machinery. Construction materials such as PVC pipes should be fully recycled and all wood comes from sustainably managed forests.

Rotterdam aims to use the action plan to further embed responsible procurement and help bring all tenders to the desired level. The action plan describes how the cooperation between contract owners, buyers and policy advisers can work best and indicates how Rotterdam sets the conditions for successfully embedding socially responsible aspects in purchasing processes.

Rotterdam, member of the Procura+ network and one of the founding cities of the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement (GLCN on SP), also hopes the action plan will cement its position as a forerunner in the field of social procurement and make the municipality’s ambitions visible to the outside world.

For more information about Rotterdam’s procurement goals and plans, then visit their Sustainable Procurement Profile on the GLCN network.