Social Procurement 

Social procurement policies determine where an organization spends their money. With them, anchor institutions intentionally choose to buy from vendors that have positive co-benefits. In B.C., these are most common in non-governmental organizations and local government, but also exist in the private sector. The four pillars of social procurement are benefiting social inclusion and poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, culture and Indigenous rights, and local economic development. A holistic social procurement policy encompasses all of these intersecting but distinct themes. Together, these four pillars support healthy, resilient communities:

Social and Community Benefit: Purchases can have a positive social impact on the community through increasing social inclusion and contributing to poverty reduction, particularly for equity-deserving groups. 

Examples:

• Purchase directly from social enterprises that: 

• Prioritize social, cultural, and environmental goals with most profits reinvested into those goals

• Hire people from disadvantaged groups and communities 

• Provide training and skills development

• Purchase directly from diverse suppliers and equity-deserving groups e.g. women owned, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, Persons with a disability, veterans, youth, recent immigrants

• Mandate Community Benefits in contracts. These policies require that suppliers engage in ‘activities’ that deliver community benefits such as: 

• Offering skills development and training opportunities 

• Engage in community development and ‘healthy communities’ initiatives, including education initiatives 

• Demonstrate corporate business practices that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion 

Environmental Benefit: Purchases can positively impact the health of local and global ecosystems. These procurement practices promote measures that protect the environment, promote sustainability, and promote planetary health. 

Examples:

• Minimize unnecessary purchasing or ensure the service is necessary 

• Consider a whole life cycle assessment for the product or service evaluating the environmental and health impact

• Reduce environmental impact of purchases by: 

• Reducing waste, avoid products with excessive packaging, offer collection/reuse of packaging; 

• Reduce air and water pollution; 

• Reduce GHG emissions, including emissions associated with transportation; 

• Reduce the use of chemicals that are hazardous to the environment, employees, and public health; 

• Choose energy efficient products; 

• Choose products that have a high postconsumer recycled content, are reusable, recyclable, or compostable; 

• Selecting suppliers who strive to improve their environmental performance and provide environmentally preferable products, and who can document the supply-chain impact of their efforts. 

Cultural Benefit: Purchases have a positive impact on local arts and culture, including centering principles of reconciliation, promoting economic inclusion, and upholding rights and title of Indigenous communities.

Examples:

• Have a specific Indigenous Procurement Policy 

• Purchase directly from social enterprises that prioritize cultural goals with profits reinvested into those goals

Local Economic Benefit: Purchases support local economic development that contributes to a strong economy at the community level. Procurement centers labour and human rights along the supply-chain continuum. 

Examples:

• Purchase directly from local businesses 

• Purchase directly from small/medium-sized businesses 

• Purchase directly from Living Wage Employers 

• Purchase union-made or affiliated goods/services

• Ensure all direct and indirect purchases align with international labour laws and human rights, ensure fair wages across the supply chain continuum

Collective Procurement: Through collaborating with other anchor institutions and organizations, collective procurement can be cheaper for everyone while maximizing social benefits through involving additional organizations.

• Utilize collaborative buying to leverage purchase sizes for savings and social objectives

References

Buy Social Canada. A Guide to Social Procurement.; 2018. https://www.buysocialcanada.com/wpcontent/uploads/BSC_socialprocurement_R5_EN_SCREEN.pdf