Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote sustainability in the supply chain during Ministry of Defence procurement.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes environmental and sustainability issues into account throughout its acquisition process. Our investment approvals policy includes a requirement to take sustainability into account in all initial business cases, and the use of an environmental management system is mandated for all acquisition projects.

This helps to ensure that our activities are compliant with Government sustainable development and environmental protection policy requirements. Where relevant, sustainability and environmental requirements are also defined in defence contracts, evaluated in the tender process and monitored and managed through the life of the contract to ensure MOD requirements are being met.

We also expect defence industry suppliers to play a key role in improving their own processes and supply chain education. Where sub-contractors are engaged, the prime contractor remains responsible for ensuring adherence to all obligations, including those relating to sustainability and environmental issues.

We expect our suppliers to abide by the Government's Supplier Code of Conduct, which requires suppliers to understand and reduce their impact on the environment. Underpinning this, the MOD has published a Defence Standard for assurance that contractors are operating suitable environmental management systems.

We also continue to work through the Sustainable Procurement Working Group to share good practice and maintain a dialogue with industry partners on this important issue.

More information on how the MOD manages sustainable procurement can be found on the Knowledge in Defence website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/knowledge-in-defence-kid.