How can investing in commissioning technology make councils greener?

In the last few years we have witnessed and experienced more and more extreme weather conditions. From flash flooding, wildfires, and multiple heatwaves, it is clear the impacts of climate change are affecting us all in some way or another. National emergencies being declared more frequently all around the world.

With this new ‘net zero’ target in place many councils, regions, and organisations, are looking to find ways they can help, and local authorities are no different.  One of the big ways is using digital solutions to improve efficiency, save energy, and reduce costs.

At The Access Group we are aware of how important it is for us to be more sustainable and in this article we will provide you with all the information regarding the importance of climate change initiatives, what councils are currently doing, and how commissioning technology can help even further.

Why are councils focused on climate change initiatives?

In the past few years awareness of climate change has continued to grow across the world. 55% of Londoners alone say their day-to-day life in London has been impacted by climate change and 28 boroughs and the major of London have declared multiple climate emergencies.

More countries are pledging to reduce their impact and work together to develop joint goals and initiatives to make the world more sustainable. A variety of pledges including The Climate Change Act, The Green Deal, UN sustainable development goals, and multiple greener housing and transportation targets have encouraged wider conversations regarding climate change policies and interventions.

Climate change is, therefore, now a strong focus for local authorities across the UK to ensure targets are reached and meaningful sustainable solutions are put in place. Councils are vital to leading these changes as they understand the requirements of their local communities, and the challenges they may have to overcome to achieve these changes.

Councillor James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association says

“Councils are a unique and powerful partner in achieving net zero, they are able to impact on more than a third of all emissions from villages, towns, and cities, such as housing, transport and the natural environment.”

How are councils using sustainable technology?

Sustainable technology has been created and designed to either minimise or prevent any negative social or environmental impacts. It has been produced so that every decision made considers the environment and its long term effects to support Local Authorities to be more sustainable.

Using this technology allows councils and local providers to connect for a more efficient way of managing services within the public sector. By focusing on how providers can be more energy efficient and building these factors into the initial requirements of a supplier, they can reduced their carbon footprints or use more natural renewable materials from the beginning and encourage other providers to do the same. This improves local communities and the wellbeing of individuals living in the area.

Why is investing in sustainable commissioning technology important?

Investing in sustainable commissioning technology is important because it helps supports councils to achieve government targets and be compliant with environmental guidance while improving social standards. Councils investing in sustainably focused commissioning practices will help to make use of resources effectively and limit the amount of waste. It also allows staff to perform tasks efficiently and reduce the need for additional travel costs and electricity usage.

Councils using more sustainable approaches, such as cutting down on paper led manual tasks, can help to provide a healthier work environment for their staff but also implement these practices into their wider strategy, so that sustainability remains a focus and key goal in every local service.

By building better relationships with providers, local authorities can encourage suppliers to implement better practices and share any new ideas of greener initiatives. This partnership, working with the local community, can lead to quicker implementation and development of sustainable projects, saving costs in the long term and leading the way for greener change.

What are the challenges of investing in sustainable commissioning technology?

In 2021 the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) reported 37% of councils have declared a climate emergency. Interestingly, of the 211 respondents, only 23% of Councils with annual budgets below £250,000 declared a climate and/or climate and biological emergency. This implies that some smaller councils feel there is less they can do and indicates even when there is both a need and want for change, restricted funding is slowing and preventing these changes from happening.

The Local Government Association’s climate change survey also concluded that 93% of local authorities, regardless of their size or budget, are struggling against a funding barrier. This has led to 73% of councils developing partnerships with other local authorities to combat climate change and work on joint initiatives.

Funding restrictions can lead to councils using less sustainable commissioning methods to ensure solutions are within budget. Commissioning technology can be expensive, especially for smaller councils with smaller budgets. However, by investing into commissioning technology early, local authorities will see tangible cost savings within the first year of use, along with long-term cost savings, improvements to their services and greener methods. Combining all of these benefits help councils achieve and exceed overall goals and successfully work towards the government’s ‘net-zero’ target.

Commissioning solutions and staying green – what is the link?

Councils can improve their commissioning solutions by focusing on finding and using sustainable approaches which can resolve local challenges they are experiencing. Using this approach helps councils implement climate change initiatives that are compliant and up-to-date with government guidelines.

By focusing, finding, investing, and using sustainable procurement methods, councils can focus on what really matters in their local area. Whether that is sourcing sustainable transport or ensuring landlords comply with greener requirements, councils will not need to compromise between the cost of service or climate change targets.

How can local authorities and councils ensure they benefit from commissioning technology?

For commissioning solutions to fully effect sustainability goals, councils must know how to utilise them to get the best outcomes. Here are 5 top ways councils can take advantage of commissioning technology to help you achieve your climate change targets.

1. Selecting the correct solution

When investing into commissioning technology or commissioning solutions it is essential you select technology that will benefit you and your local area’s needs.

BCG revealed that businesses can cut carbon emissions simply by switching to a technology solution. Through using technology solutions councils do not have to rely on physical methods which have higher carbon input such as paper usage, electricity usage, postage or even fuel to transport documents from place to place. Technology solutions have all the information in one place and can be sent or shared to the correct person in just a few clicks.

The UK government have suggested that cloud-based solutions are best for this because they aim to use resources more efficiently. Cloud-based solutions also offer other benefits for councils such as travel savings. These equally help reach climate change targets and make sure budgets are used more effectively.

Cloud-based software helps identify new opportunities for making better use of data sharing and processing which in turn can encourage even more sustainable decision making.. Our Access Adam technology allows users to securely access the platform from any location, reducing time travelling to sites for onboarding or compliance checks.

2. Target sustainable action via your provider requirements

According to the ‘councillor workbook: the pathway to net zero.’ The top 3 biggest sources of carbon dioxide emissions are:

• Transport
• Energy supply
• Homes

By focusing on sustainable change as a part of the commissioning process councils can be presented with a big opportunity to be more environmentally focussed for every individual as soon as they start using a service.

Setting sustainable requirements for each provider creates a higher quality marketplace and encourages suppliers to be more eco-friendly and develop continued improvements.

It is crucial that technological solutions ensure client commissioning requirements are built into the platform. We make sure that is possible by providing users with a clearer view of the market to implement further sustainable changes and initiatives.

3. Identify areas for sustainable improvement 

Commissioning technology presents a better view of the available marketplace while streamlining your processes to save staff time and costs. It allows councils to identify further areas for improvement such as highlighting too many routes in use for home-to-school transport or discovering a special education needs (SEN) transport provider which uses electric cars at a cheaper price compared to petrol or diesel. Using commissioning technology can therefore significantly reduce the impact of transport emissions quickly and efficiently.

Having strong relationships between Local Authorities and providers is essential to help make councils greener. It encourages collaborative and continued change to our local environments, and our communication tools within our platform make this process a lot easier by building better relationships and establishing the long-term changes needed to improve your local area.

4. Reduce the number of products and solutions used

Commissioning technology can support local authorities with a full end-to-end service from onboarding, contact management, to payment processing. These solutions reduce both the number of products and the number of tasks staff are undertaking. This reduces the number of resources used and therefore lowers your carbon footprint.

In an ideal world one single solution would be able to provide solutions for all the services councils offer. However, sometimes this is not possible and councils require multiple systems. If this is the case try to use and find systems that seamlessness interact, transfer data, and can be adapted to your needs.

A platform that can be tailored to meet the needs of different services such as social care, healthcare, transport and housing is something we are very proud to offer at The Access Group. One of our customers, Milton Keynes Council, is a great example of this and has had great success with our Access Adam social care solution for Domiciliary care after implementing the Access Adam transport technology.

5. Work with sustainable focused companies

Climate change is a worldwide priority affecting many of us in different ways each day. Businesses are also focused on making sustainable changes. It is vital to work with commissioning businesses that support and embrace the same values and goals that you and your local community have.

Here at Access Adam we are committed to developing a culture of environmental awareness throughout our business and we embed it into our staff values. From recycling practices, to travel , we strive to create a sustainable environment and lower our carbon footprint.

Our Access Adam Care Commissioning software offers cloud based solutions which can be used securely whenever and wherever to reduce time travelling to sites and your carbon emissions.

To find out more on how our commissioning solutions can make your local area greener today and make better use of digital commissioning solutions, watch our social care commissioning webinar today.

Contact our team for your free consultation and learn more about Access commissioning solutions.