About the London Energy Project
In 2008 LEP successfully introduced risk managed, aggregated flexible procurement (flex contracts) across the London public sector. Now 28 out of 33 councils and all GLA functional bodies have adopted this approach. Flex contracts enable organisations to manage risk and control costs effectively and are regarded as best practice. As flex contracts require aggregation of volume, public sector organisations increase their spending power and influence and can benefit from improved and additional services from suppliers. You can find more information on our Best practice procurement Opens in a new window page.
In 2009, LEP won the Government Opportunities (GO) Best Procurement Innovation or Initiative Award for its unique approach to changing the way local authorities buy energy. In the words of the judging panel:
"This was a unanimous decision and an entry that caught the judges' attention from the very first line of the submission, and held it until the last. "It was the complete package - a hugely important and complex initiative in a high-profile area... The benefits are clear -"
LEP and GS1UK are working with utility companies and their customers to develop a standard GS1 XML message for utility billing. A single, standardised approach will enable more efficient processing and validation of utility bills for multi-site customers, which could achieve significant savings. There is more information about this on our Efficiency and improvement Opens in a new window page.
LEP has responded quickly to the challenges of the Carbon Reduction Commitment by
- opening a dialogue with the Department for Energy and Climate Change to interpret and challenge regulations,
- co-authoring with the local Government Association, the local government response to the formal consultation and
- developing "Preparing for the Carbon Reduction Commitment", a Local Authority Guide and Toolkit containing a suite of practical resources to help councils. 150 people attended the launch event of the Guide and Toolkit, which was very well received. Since then it has been welcomed by 400 users as an excellent source of practical support.
You can find further details of this area of our work on our Sustainability and carbon Opens in a new window page.
LEP is regularly called on to provide expertise and information on energy procurement and management and carbon reduction. We work with public sector professionals across management disciplines (energy, procurement, finance, carbon reduction), and with key stakeholders in government departments, the regions and governmental and professional advisory bodies such as
- Office for Government Commerce,
- Local Government Association,
- Local Government Improvement and Development,
- the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants and
- the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.
We also maintain an active relationship with providers such as LASER and Buying Solutions who supply energy and associated services to the public sector.
We provide a range of free support to London public sector bodies and you can find more information about this on our Collaboration, knowledge transfer and best practice Opens in a new window page.
Our Influencing policy development Opens in a new window page explains how LEP is working with central government colleagues, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to make sure that local government interests are represented.
Looking ahead, our aim is to extend the opportunity for savings and efficiencies that boroughs can achieve by adopting LEP's best practice recommendations to £35m per annum - a goal we believe is attainable.
You can contact us at LCE.energy@haringey.gov.uk or on 020 8489 1925.
