Wellington City Council procurement approach to delivering positive impact

In 2021, Wellington City Council voted to adopt a new procurement strategy. The strategy works to ensure Wellington City Council “uses its purchasing power to support values-based management decisions with an emphasis on economic, social, cultural, environmental and public well-being outcomes.” It aims to promote innovation and support local businesses in recognition that every year, Wellington City Council spends over $500 million on external suppliers to help run its operations and deliver its projects.

Since 2021, Wellington City Council has implemented the strategy through developing a ‘Broader Outcomes Strategy’ to guide how commercial activities are designed and delivered, refreshing its suite of procurement templates to incorporate wellbeing outcomes, and updating its procurement policy, to ensure the strategy is embedded in all commercial decision making.

Ensuring broader outcomes are weaved into how Wellington City Council undertakes commercial activities has been fundamental to the success of the new procurement approach. Successes have included:

• local Māori businesses winning contracts with Council
• projects across the city providing targeted employment opportunities and placements for rangatahi, women in construction, and NEET individuals (an MSD service for young people not in employment, education or training)
• the inclusion of waste minimisation targets and outcomes in contracts, with a focus on diverting waste from landfill through deconstruction, repurposing, reusing and recycling
• embedding the use of te reo Māori, mana whenua-led design, and iwi history in project delivery.