Continued growth in the Coastal Communities Social Procurement Initiative (CCSPI) has seen its members procure more than $200 million in socially beneficial goods and employment in the last two years, according to the organizationB次元官网网址檚 first report.

The City of Victoria, Township of Esquimalt, Capital Regional District and the governments of B.C. and Canada are among 27 members B次元官网网址� up from the founding six local governments B次元官网网址� committed to the B次元官网网址渆merging best practiceB次元官网网址� of sourcing such services as city maintenance, construction, hospital equipment and more from local, environmentally sustainable and/or marginalized groups.

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In 2019 the City of Victoria, for example, spent $3.9 million on corporate purchases under $1,500 including catering, restaurants, travel and office supplies. Now, when making purchases, staff consider supply chains, local jobs and living wages.

B次元官网网址淲hen people are making small purchases, they donB次元官网网址檛 think they can make a difference,B次元官网网址� city buyer Leah Hamilton said in the CCSPI report. B次元官网网址淗owever, telling them that the City makes a $3.9 million collective purchase made them think they could do some good. This was exciting and empowering.B次元官网网址�

The city is continuing with mandatory internal training and building a dedicated resource site for staff that is populated with a list of local social value suppliers and success stories.

As more public dollars are spent on construction works, said Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association B次元官网网址� a local partner to the initiative B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渟ocial procurement initiatives have gained significant traction as a means for all levels of government, crown corporations and public institutions to leverage their existing purchasing power for value-added community outcomes.B次元官网网址�

Phase two of the initiative will see the initiative expanded across B.C. with the implementation of new social impact measurement tools, according to their report.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been wonderful to see CCSPI grow from an idea and a small collaboration among six local governments to a fully functioning social procurement initiative with almost 30 members,B次元官网网址� said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, former co-chair of the steering committee. B次元官网网址淲e look forward to working to scale CCSPI across British Columbia to help more communities and other public agencies to align their spending with the values of their communities.B次元官网网址�

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