Northwest NHS Suppliers Bureau Groundwork Merseyside’s Northwest NHS Suppliers Bureau provides a pathway for businesses to potentially secure, develop and expand their business by supplying the NHS. In the North West alone, the NHS spends approximately £2.2 billion on purchasing a wide range of goods and services. By integrating sustainable development into their business practices, the NHS recognises that through its interactions with stakeholders, and by considering what it purchases and how it purchases, progress can be made towards achieving greater social inclusion and equity, as well as improving the health of the community it serves. Purchasing has direct social, environmental and economic impacts, and presents an ideal opportunity to reduce the risk of health inequalities that can come with a degraded environment, unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. Groundwork Merseyside can assist businesses that are able to meet the NHS's procurement requirements whilst addressing the economic, social and environmental impacts on the NHS supply chain. Through Pre Qualification Questionnaires and tender submissions, on site support, information, and training to effectively engage and tender more successfully with the NHS on a local, regional and national basis.
Envirolink: Buy Recycled Code Funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Envirolink Northwest works on behalf of the energy and environmental technologies and services sector, which includes water and wastewater treatment, renewable energy, energy efficiency, land remediation and recycling and waste management. Of the many services provided by Envirolink Northwest, one of the most relevant to businesses in the region, regardless of their size or sector is the Buy Recycled Code. Buying recycled products makes economic sense as investment in technology, design and production has resulted in recycled products which perform as well as, if not better than, conventional products. Your company can show clearly that it is benefiting the environment, is committed to corporate responsibility, as well as benefiting its bottom line. The Buy Recycled Code is designed to help businesses in the Northwest improve their resource efficiency and sustainability by increasing their use of recycled content products. Examples of products that contain substantial recycled content range from office paper to concrete blocks.
Members of the Code submit their spend for analysis to identify sustainable recycled content alternatives available to them. They then receive a Certificate of Commitment, providing access to PR opportunities, technical advice and support, an online toolkit containing model policies and contracts, clauses and priority access to seminars and workshops. All Buy Recycled Code members can access three offers, delivered in partnership with Spiral Group Purchasing, covering recycled office products, print quality papers and promotional products, to help them switch to buying recycled. Companies that engage more closely with the Code are eligible to receive tailored consultations, advice and specific training workshops and are likely to feature prominently in Envirolink Northwest’s publications. For more information please contact James Griffin at Envirolink on 01925 856 056 or email: j.griffin@envirolinknorthwest.co.uk
As the Supply Chain Initiatives Manager at Groundwork Merseyside, Pat Broster has worked in collaboration with the NHS for the past 5 years. This was initiated as one of seven national Health Action Zone Schemes and has been instrumental in the development of the Northwest NHS Suppliers Bureau programme. Pat says: “The NHS procures a diverse range of goods and services and they recognise the potential for them to engage with their local community, this is a great opportunity to promote North West businesses; this encourages higher standards for businesses and their employees, economic benefits and regeneration in the North West.” For more information about the service please contact Julie McManus, on 0151 644 4720.
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