Craigavon Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council is situated on the southern shores of Lough Neagh in Co Armagh in Northern Ireland. The council budget of £24 million provides a wide range of services to over 84,000 people living in the area. With around 600 staff, it is also one of the biggest employers within the Borough.
In it's drive towards sustainable development, Craigavon has already implemented the following successful schemes:
- Monitoring smoke and air pollution throughout the borough as well as investigating any noise, water and land complaints;
- Promoting environmental education through school visits, nature conservation awareness and countryside access;
- Achieving ISO14001 for its Environmental Services Department and Oxford Island, with the plan to extend the certification to other areas of the council;
- Investing in the collection of green and brown bins. Craigavon's current recycling rate is 29%;
- Encouraging environmentally friendly building techniques, designs and energy management practices during construction and final use;
- Reducing its energy consumption through the use of renewable power such as the wind turbines at its central services depot and avoiding unnecessary consumption.
Sustainable Procurement Activities
At present Craigavon is in the process of reviewing and updating its Green Purchasing Policy which first came into effect in 1999. The intension is to develop a set of criteria in order to demand the most environmentally friendly products in everyday use and in its tendering process.
Over the next year Craigavon intends to greatly increase the level of green procurement through the development of criteria and procurement software. The objective is to drive innovation within the borough among suppliers and the public by becoming an exemplar of green procurement.
