A new Charter, published by the City of London Corporation, calls on developers and construction firms working in the City to source 10% of goods and services from small and medium enterprises based in the City Fringe boroughs (Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Islington, Camden, Lambeth, Southwark and Westminster).
The City of London Corporation currently provides free support to City based businesses looking to procure locally through its 'City Procurement Project'. Now, the Charter aims to build on this work by specifically encouraging "City developers" (anyone commissioning or carrying out building work or repairs in the City) to join other City businesses in purchasing from small to medium sized businesses in the City and surrounding boroughs.
Engaging in local procurement can bring with it a whole raft of benefits for your organisation, including greater flexibility and reliability of supply, reduction in delays, greater innovation and creative solutions, and often quite significant cost savings.
To support developers, the City of London Corporation provides a range of free support and guidance, including signposting to local supplier databases, providing one to one advice and access to written guidance via its Local Purchasing Toolkit and other resources.
Formore information, the full Charter can be found on the City of London's website- please click here -along with the associated guidance note.