Fully furnished
Local authorities looking for swift and easy access to sustainable furniture to equip their offices, workspaces and council buildings can now take advantage of OGCbuying.solutions’ new, enhanced furniture framework agreement.
Launched in October, the framework agreement, which attracts spend in excess of £60 million each year, covers a diverse range of furniture products including desks, chairs, storage, canteen & restaurant and shelving as well as bespoke furniture solutions for applications such as council chambers, executive offices, conference suites, reception areas and residential facilities.
The products included in these arrangements were selected following a wide ranging, collaborative effort to take full account of the specific needs of councils and other public sector organisations. In particular, the growing need to make workspaces operate as efficiently as possible, using equipment that meets exacting health and safety, British Standard (BS) & European Norm (EN) standards, environmental and sustainability criteria were carefully considered.
Commenting on the new procurement arrangements, Graham Threlfall, furniture category specialist at Buying Solutions said:
"This framework agreement will provide our local authority customers with greater clarity in terms of the products available and from whom, allowing customers to run further competitions more efficiently with fewer suppliers. This has been a collaborative effort with a mixture of stakeholders across the public sector.
“Of course many items of furniture have extensive timber or wood-derived content. Of particular importance in this procurement exercise was to ensure that customers can be confident that the timber they are buying comes from legal, sustainable and auditable sources.
“We have a responsibility to do all we possibly can in this area. Most people are well aware that the world’s forests are disappearing rapidly in places such as Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This has a devastating effect on the habitats for wildlife and also contributes to climate change as trees play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming.
“The demand for action to stop deforestation has resulted in the establishment of organisations with certification and self-certification systems for the wood content of products.
“In the UK the most well known of these is the Forest Stewardship Council. FSC inspects timber producing forests to ensure that they are responsibly managed and that the timber grown there has ‘chain of custody’ certification, showing the route the timber has taken from the forest to the consumer. This provides the end user with the confidence that the timber has been produced legally and sustainably.”
The furniture framework agreement is divided into specific areas including:
• Office furniture, incorporating the supply, delivery and installation of all types of office furniture and associated services
• Courtroom/bespoke furniture and associated services including reception areas, executive offices, courtrooms, conference facilities, council chambers and judicial suites
• Residential furniture, incorporating the supply delivery and installation of free standing and modular bedroom and study furniture including beds
• High density steel storage incorporating the supply, delivery and installation of mobile and static steel storage including
gondola type library shelving, both hand operated and mechanically operated and powered, including inserts, pockets, wallets, labels and storage media
Suppliers will also undertake site surveys, space planning, design, reconfiguration and installation work. In addition they all offer services to dispose of redundant furniture.
“This is a very important dimension if the solution is to be regarded as fully sustainable,” says Graham Threlfall. “A great deal of second hand furniture is reusable and recyclable. For some organisations, such as charities and not-forprofits, this is an excellent way of getting access to good quality items that have been recovered and refurbished properly, that still have many years of use ahead of them.
“As well as making best use of limited financial resources, this also reduces demand for virgin timber, reduces the market for illegally logged timber and leaves more trees standing in the forest.
“All our suppliers can demonstrate that they have robust systems for the disposal of furniture products with timber. This will most likely be achieved by entering into alliances with organisations which specialise in recycling and reusing, such as Green Works, Green Standards, or the Disposal Services Authority.”
The furniture framework agreement will operate for a period of four years. Its launch follows a rigorous competitive tender process advertised via the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
Buying Solutions’ framework agreements provide a trusted, value-for-money, fast and flexible way for public sector organisations to buy goods and services.
EU-compliant, pre-tendered, one-stopshop framework agreements save buyers time, money and worry by providing access to rigorously-evaluated and carefully-chosen suppliers who are experts in their fields. Standard terms and conditions provide important contractual safeguards.
For more information about the furniture framework agreement, go to www.ogcbuyingsolutions.gov.uk or call the customer service desk on 0845 410 2222.
