Ethical & Sustainable Procurement
STAR Responsible Procurement Strategy
STAR and the councils it supports have agreed a Responsible Procurement Strategy to reflect important changes to how we work and to place responsible, sustainable and ethical procurement at the heart of everything we do. It recognises the national, regional and local influences which shape our procurement world and sets out how we will achieve our business objectives through procurement activity. It is designed to be simple and clear, demonstrating how we will deliver procurement worth to the STAR Councils and their partner organisations through the five core objectives set out in our Business Plan.
STAR and our Partners expect all suppliers (and their sub-contractors) to work in partnership with us and to comply with the Core and Additional Expectations set out in Annex 1 of the Responsible Procurement Strategy.
Our commitment to responsible procurement
Procurement decisions can have major implications and impacts on society, economies, and the environment, locally and globally, both now and for future generations. Companies need to source products and services both responsibly and ethically in order to ensure global sustainable development. We are committed to adopting ethical and responsible values in all our actions and activities.
Our Responsible Procurement Strategy sets out our commitments and promises to the organisations we work with and their suppliers. In recognition for these commitments, CIPS has awarded us their Corporate Ethics Mark every year since 2019.
Ethical and Responsible Procurement Initiatives
Our Partners are committed to furthering ethical and sustainable procurement in various ways. We provide below further information around some of the initiatives our Partners have pledged commitments to support.
Unite Construction Charter
The STAR Partners are committed to ensuring that construction workers are protected, and achieve the highest standards in respect of:
- direct employment status health & safety
- standard of work
- apprenticeship training
- the implementation of appropriate nationally agreed terms and conditions of employment
Therefore the STAR Partners expect all suppliers of works / construction via them to adhere to the requirements of the Unite Construction Charter.
All Equals Charter
The STAR Partners are committed to protecting all workers, and creating safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ people. Our Partners believe that everyone deserves their whole selves to be accepted without exception, and without fear of discrimination. It is expected that all suppliers to our Partners to abide by the All Equals Charter principles.
Tyred Campaign
The STAR Partners are committed to the campaign to ban the use of tyres over 10 years old on all commercial vehicles. We will work to make sure that tyres of more than 10 years old are not used within the STAR Partners’ supply chain. More details on this can be found at The Tyred website.
Driving Out Single Use Plastics
The STAR Partners are committed to driving out the use of Single Use Plastics within their supply chains, and within the region. They support the GM ambition to dramatically reduce avoidable single use plastics in the region. More details can be found at PlasticFreeGM.
Fair Tax Mark
The STAR Partners are committed to ensuring organisations they do business with are responsible and pay the right amount of corporate tax. They support the Fair Tax Mark, and encourage organisations that bid for their business to adhere to the Fair Tax Mark standards.
Net Carbon Zero
The STAR Partners are fully committed to support Greater Manchester to achieve net carbon zero by 2038. STAR procurement will play a key roll in building this priority in to all third party spend via the procurement process.
Business Diversity
STAR procurement is committed to ensuring that businesses diversity thrives ensuring there are no underrepresented areas amongst the STAR partners. Via the STAR Twelve Steps to Social Value we will ensure that there are no barriers to procurement, suppliers are match fit and any required documentation is simplified to ensure all business types can easily bid for opportunities.