New Zealand’s First Sustainable Sports Park | IS Thought Leadership: Toto Vu-Duc

Sustainable Procurement
Scott Point Sustainable Sports Park

By Toto Vu-Duc

Hobsonville is undergoing significant development to help accommodate Auckland’s growing population. Over 16 hectares of land in the north-western suburb of Scott Point was identified to build New Zealand’s first certified sustainable sports park, a feature the community can be proud of and will demonstrate Auckland Council’s commitment to a sustainable future.

This context created an ideal opportunity for Council to undertake a procurement process fully leveraging the organisation’s sustainable procurement framework, seeking a lead contractor to “achieve this vision and be responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the construction works in a fully sustainable manner,” as was advertised in the original request for interest.

Sustainable Procurement at Auckland Council

Sustainable procurement differs from business-as-usual contract procurement in its valuation criteria. Sustainable procurement emphasises a “triple bottom line” (economic, environmental and social values) which is more comprehensive than the standard procurement that only focuses on the “bottom line” (financial cost).

At Auckland Council, our Group Sustainable Procurement Framework goes beyond a triple-bottom-line to include cultural values, outlining a total of four “well-beings” used for procurement evaluation and contract management (Figure 1). Auckland Council is committed to valuing and promoting Māori identity under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Auckland Plan. Therefore the framework was designed to deliver positive Māori outcomes and align with the key role played by mana whenua in a sustainable Auckland across these four well-beings:

Figure 1 Auckland Council Group Sustainable Procurement Framework well-beings

Under the framework, sustainable procurement is tailored to the services procured, monitored and measured throughout the procurement lifecycle to achieve maximum benefit for Aucklanders.

 

What did we deliver?

The early contractor involvement procurement phase tailored the Group Sustainable Procurement Framework to address specific selection criteria under its four well-beings and included guidance to support interested parties with their submissions. The response forms provided in the tender package covered all four well-beings and examples of acceptable evidence. Excerpts from this guidance included:

Cultural well-being

Acceptable evidence included company policies, procedures, statistics and reporting demonstrating how the applicants actively supports Māori and Pasifika-owned businesses (e.g. He Waka Eke Noa engagement), or the embedding of tikanga and/or te reo Māori into its business protocols.

Economic well-being

Evidence examples included description of a previous project yielding whole-of-life savings, either through whole-of-life modelling in decision-making or the use of innovative technology.

Environmental well-being

Applicants could demonstrate this well-being through company reporting including energy, water, waste and carbon, policies and procedures that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. Relevant independent certifications (e.g. ISO 14001 or Enviromark Diamond) were also acceptable.

Social well-being

As with environmental well-being, applicants could also demonstrate social well-being using a relevant independent certification (e.g. EDGE, Rainbow Tick, ISO 26000).We also accepted company policies, reporting, and career pathway programmes as evidence of commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce and social well-being.

 

The Result

After a robust procurement process, HEB Construction was successful in winning the contract for the next phase of the park development. In addition to providing evidence of their technical ability to deliver the project, HEB’s tender package included business reporting on climate action (such as an environmental outcome of reducing their company fleet’s fuel consumption by 10% during their previous financial year) and social well-being (as demonstrated by career pathway development through Māori & Pasifika Trades Training). The tender team also proposed sustainable innovation ideas specific to Scott Point, as seen in the background plan. Overall, the proposal package showcased HEB’s experience that will enable them to deliver the requested services for this project. The package also outlined how they provided that service on a day-to-day level to deliver sustainable outcomes across the company and specifically for the tendered project.