FOI - Procurement [Mar 2025]

Request:

1. What percentage of your current suppliers possess B Corp certification, ESGmark or a similar certification or award that recognises a commitment to ESG or sustainability-focused initiatives? [None | 0-10% | 11-20% |21-30% | 31-40% | 41-50% | 51-60% | 61-70% | 71-80% | 81-90 | 91-100%]
2. Is B Corp certification (or similar) a requirement / consideration for suppliers as part of your current tender process? [Yes | No]
3. Are you considering adding B Corp certification (or similar) as a requirement / consideration for suppliers as part of your tender process in the future? [Yes | No]
4. If so, within what timeframe? [In the next month | In the next 3 months | In the next 6 months | In the next 12 months]
5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident would you feel about knowing how to prioritise B-Corp companies (or similar) in your tender process? [1 being extremely unconfident and 10 being very confident]
6. Do you feel you would benefit from guidance as to how to prioritise B-Corp companies (or similar) in your tender process? [No, we wouldn't benefit |Yes, we would somewhat benefit | Yes, we would significantly benefit]

Response:

1. What percentage of your current suppliers possess B Corp certification, ESGmark or a similar certification or award that recognises a commitment to ESG or sustainability-focused initiatives? [None | 0-10% | 11-20% |21-30% | 31-40% | 41-50% | 51-60% | 61-70% | 71-80% | 81-90 | 91-100%]

GLA suppliers are not required to possess B Corp certification so this is not something we hold information on. The GLA does have a number of different social and environmental requirements built into the tendering processes, as per the GLA group Responsible Procurement (RP) Policy (see below)

Environmental policies and management systems, in line with ISO 14001 are required by all suppliers (100%) as part of SQ procurement stage.  Further environmental questions are included at ITT stage, depending on risk, relevance and proportionality, which cover a variety of topics including climate emergency, air quality, environmental best practise, green infrastructure and sustainable resources.

The GLA also has their own standard, the Good Work Standard (GWS) which reflects best employment practice in London, which 33 GLA suppliers currently hold. The GWS aligns to a number of B Corp performance requirements, such as fair wages, human rights, workplace culture, Government affairs and collective action and justice equity, diversity and inclusion.

2. Is B Corp certification (or similar) a requirement / consideration for suppliers as part of your current tender process? [Yes | No]

Whilst B Corp certification is not a requirement, the GLA does have a number of social and sustainability requirements built into the tendering processes, as per the GLA group Responsible Procurement Policy. This ensures that our suppliers are aligned with our priorities and can support us in achieving sustainability and social value outcomes. These are applied in a relevant and proportional way (to risk, opportunities and spend) to the contract with a 10% weighting requirement to all over threshold contracts.

These include, but are not limited to:

• environmental policies and management systems, in line with ISO 14001.
• labour practices and EDI requirements to reflect fair and inclusive employment practices
• ethical sourcing requirement to demonstrate supply chain transparency and legislative compliance

Winning suppliers are required to adhere to relevant contractual clauses and comply with our policies.

More published information on the GLA’s Responsible Procurement Policy, Implementation Plan as well as case studies and reports can be found here (scroll down to Responsible Procurement)

3. Are you considering adding B Corp certification (or similar) as a requirement / consideration for suppliers as part of your tender process in the future? [Yes | No]

No

4. If so, within what timeframe? [In the next month | In the next 3 months | In the next 6 months | In the next 12 months]

N/A

5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident would you feel about knowing how to prioritise B-Corp companies (or similar) in your tender process? [1 being extremely unconfident and 10 being very confident]

10 – we understand and are already applying our RP policy to GLA procurement processes to ensure that suppliers align to our commitments around social value and sustainability.

As a public sector organisation, we must also run a fair and transparent competitive tender process in line with the Procurement Act 2023, Public Contract Regulations and other legislation and we ensure the current approach adheres to this.

6. Do you feel you would benefit from guidance as to how to prioritise B-Corp companies (or similar) in your tender process? [No, we wouldn't benefit |Yes, we would somewhat benefit | Yes, we would significantly benefit]

No, we wouldn't benefit -see above