SUPPLY CHAIN
“ I guess one of the challenges is what is the difference between indirect and direct procurement ,” says Battle . “ If you are the head of that buying supply chain in a way , it doesn ' t matter whether it ' s you buying or your supply chain buying on your or behalf , you have direct responsibility for it . So I would challenge the word indirect , which sort of implies perhaps less responsibility . “ It ' s all about procurement and my particular perspective of this is , is buying in , in the right way .”
According to Battle , the private sector could learn a lot from the public about how to procure sustainably : “ I would say in terms of progressive procurement within the UK , it ' s the public sector leading it , the private sector think they know what they ' re doing , but they don ' t understand because there ' s a certain arrogance , dare I say it . They think they know everything and have nothing to learn from the public sector .” “ They just think it ' s all about saving rainforest . While that is really important , it is , you know , a slither of the story . They don ' t get that big picture ,” says Battle .
“ They ' re thinking about all the aspects of environmental sustainability , but do they consider how they are supporting local businesses ? Do they consider how they can get the lawyers they ' re employing to provide free advice to citizens who are struggling to pay for their own legal advice ? Do they consider how they can encourage their whole supply chain to be net zero ? No , they don ' t .”
The public sector lesson According to Darren Knowd , the success of the public sector should not come as a surprise .
Knowd is Head of Procurement , Sales and Business Services at Durham County Council ( DCC ), which won the first ever award for
Social Value Leadership for an Organisation by the UK ’ s Cabinet Office . He leads all procurement activity at DCC , which spends £ 600mn ( US $ 812mn ) annually and is also the Chair of LGA National Advisory Group for Local Government Procurement and Chair of the LGA National Social Value Task Force .
Prior to working in local government , Knowd worked for both Nissan Europe and General Motors .
“THE PUBLIC SECTOR IS VERY FAR AHEAD … FUNDAMENTALLY A COUNCIL ' S JOB IS TO IMPROVE THE SOCIAL , ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL WELLBEING OF ITS LOCAL COMMUNITIES ”
DARREN KNOWD HEAD OF PROCUREMENT , SALES AND BUSINESS SERVICES , DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL
114 March 2022