More than 130 delegates from 55 NSW councils gathered at Sydney's Darling Harbour for the Local Government Procurement Conference 2024 on October 29-30. A team from OneAdvanced joined purchasing, sourcing, contract management and other local government procurement professionals for two days of insights and knowledge sharing.
The conference theme, "Create Ripples, Ride the Wave," captured the power of incremental change in driving innovation and excellence in procurement. This concept of small actions leading to significant outcomes resonated throughout the presentations and discussions.
Here are the key insights from this year's event.
Official Opening and Welcome
The conference opened with an inspiring Welcome to Country by Brendin Kerin, who shared the rich history of the land with our delegates.
Next was an address from the Hon Ron Hoenig MP, the Minister for Local Government in NSW, who delivered a frank assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing local government procurement.
The Minister emphasised the fundamental importance of local government, describing it as Australia's most crucial tier of government. However, he noted that councils operate in an increasingly complex environment, facing unprecedented public scrutiny while managing tighter budgets.
Minister Hoenig acknowledged the growing pressure on local government to deliver more services and better outcomes with limited resources. He stressed the need for councils to strengthen their contract management skills and negotiate from positions of authority.
He concluded on an encouraging note, highlighting the vital role procurement professionals play in local government, emphasising their potential to drive positive change in their communities.
Keynote: Create Ripples Ride the Wave
“We can all be impact champions in very different ways. Ask what is it that you touch every day at a local level. This is where you can have an impact and make incremental change.”
Dr Dianne McGrath is a leading sustainability expert, Co-Founder of “Watch my Waste” and the director of the sustainability and business consultancy: Food For Thought Consulting Australia.
She recently returned from 11 months on the ocean, circumnavigating the globe in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2023-24. During a compelling keynote address, Dianne shared powerful stories from her journey and challenged attendees to question their current processes. Her message encouraged making small, strategic changes to boost adaptability and success.
Dianne explained that the Clipper race featured 11 boats with identical structures and features. Despite this, some were significantly more successful. “The difference in performance, she said, “was a result of the choices made by the crews.” As it turned out, the most efficient boats were the ones that implemented small tweaks rather than major changes to their course.
As she covered 40,000 nautical miles of ocean, Dianne reflected on how to raise awareness for ocean protection and inspire others to pitch in. “I’m a strong believer in incremental change. If you pick up just 3 bits of litter next time you’re at the beach - you’ve made a difference.”
At each port, she reached out to NGOs and local organisations to ask how she could get involved in their ocean protection initiatives and help share the word more widely. From mangrove cleanups to beach litter removal and coral protection, she discovered so many communities doing “small” things that collectively made a big difference.
Measuring and Celebrating Success
“Procurement departments need to develop the knowledge and skills to measure procurement impact. Demonstrating the value of procurement and highlighting the benefits of a strong procurement function brings value to councils and helps drive further improvement.”
In this session, Marea Getsios, Procurement and Contracts Manager, Inner West Council spoke about the importance of acknowledging, measuring and celebrating success for procurement leaders in local government.
Councils’ procurement functions are often tasked with leading improvement programs and building procurement capability. This can result in substantial benefits to the organisation, such as improving compliance, saving time and enhancing efficiency.
Marea identified several reasons why procurement managers are often reluctant to celebrate their wins: fear of judgement; humility or modesty; imposter syndrome; cultural norms; desire to avoid pressure and fear of diminishing others. She pointed out that while these concerns are understandable, procurement managers need to push past them and get out of their comfort zone when it comes to sharing their successes.
“Procurement is misunderstood and a lot of what we do in councils is done in the background,” she said. “(However) reporting on wins means that you can do better service to the community and spread understanding about procurement’s vital role.
This involves a proactive effort to raise the procurement profile with internal stakeholders, suppliers, media and the broader community. Marea’s advice included creating a communications plan, sharing wins with the organisation, and broadcasting achievements on the council website.
“Sharing success stories is a powerful way to inspire and motivate others. If we don’t tell them, they won’t know how cost savings and social and environmental goals have been achieved,” Marea said.
Case Study: Procuring Infrastructure that Supports the Circular Economy, Innovation and Environment
“There’s so much scope (for circular economy initiatives). Have a strategy in place. One initiative on its own is unlikely to generate sufficient outcomes. Don’t judge opportunities on a whim, and always apply a multi-factor assessment.”
An insightful session led by Peter Shields, Chief Engineer City Infrastructure and Traffic Operations, City of Sydney, explored approaches to successful infrastructure procurement that meet circular economy, innovation and environmental goals.
Using a case study from the City of Sydney, Peter highlighted asphalt as one of councils' most significant procurement expenses, noting that sourcing decisions have far-reaching social, environmental and financial implications.
Peter posed a hypothetical scenario with various approaches to recycling and reusing asphalt – from maintaining the status quo to implementing innovative technologies and circular economy solutions. While acknowledging that some initiatives carry higher short-term costs but promote long-term sustainability, he emphasised the importance of evaluating options through a comprehensive lens that considers social, environmental and financial impacts.
Peter then shared how the City of Sydney tackled the challenge of limited buying power to successfully implement glass recycling in asphalt production, repurposing some of the 45% of non-usable glass from community recycling. This initiative required significant supply chain modifications and collaboration with Transport for NSW and the EPA, as well as building sufficient council buying power to drive change.
The result has been a successful four-year program where roads requiring end-of-life refurbishment now benefit from a cost-effective circular economy solution incorporating recycled glass in new road surfaces.
Navigating the Circular Economy in Procurement: Challenges, Insights and Actionable Solutions for Local Governments
“Circular Economy initiatives go beyond recycling and the activities that take place after waste generation. They also focus on waste prevention and ask us to consider how materials can be reused before we purchase them. This is how councils can have an impact.”
ESG and Procurement Services Consultant Hadi Rezaei Vandchali of Local Government Procurement (LGP) led a workshop that examined the findings of a recently published white paper. The paper analysed the current state of the circular economy within the local government sector and demonstrated how LGP can support circular economy projects, from planning to implementation.
He said that while traditional “linear economies” are characterised by a “take, make, consume and throw away” mindset, a “circular economy” involves repairing, refurbishing and reusing – thereby keeping materials in circulation for as long as possible. The end goal is to protect the environment, maximise the use of natural resources and support net zero targets, as well as to promote a range of other social and community goals.
Hadi explained that governments around the world are developing CE policies and targets, including NSW, where the National Waste Action Plan (2019) and the NSW Circular Economy Policy Statement: Too Good to Waste (2019) outline how local councils play a critical role in managing waste and achieving sustainability goals through strategic procurement.
To address these challenges, Hadi suggested that local government procurement professionals must employ a mix of upskilling, better supplier engagement and industry-wide collaboration to ensure circular economy initiatives are embraced effectively.
Enabling Indigenous Procurement
"NSWICC operates on core values of respect, outcome-focused solutions, and economic reciprocity. We believe in the importance of transparency and sustainability, particularly in relation to engagement with Indigenous businesses."
The NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce (NSWICC) CEO, Deb Barwick and Business Development Manager, Josiah Younes outlined how their organisation can help local government representatives take practical steps towards including Indigenous businesses in council supply chains.
The Chamber is governed by a board of Indigenous leaders who bring diverse business capabilities and experience to the organisation. With a membership of over 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned businesses, NSWICC represents a broad spectrum – including consultancy, training, construction, catering and many other goods and services providers.
Deb and Josiah explained how the Chamber simplifies the process of engaging with Aboriginal suppliers, supporting them to become tender-ready, and helping them grow their business capacity for sustainable long-term partnerships.
A key initiative highlighted during the session was the Women's Business Network Program, which recently celebrated 15 graduates. This program equipped participants with essential skills in business strategy development, market delivery, and modern technology tools including AI.
The speakers encouraged local government representatives to connect with NSWICC to discuss opportunities and explore ways to integrate Indigenous businesses into their supply chains.
Enhancing Collaboration through Effective Relationship Management: Insights from the Latest WorldCC Research
“Assuming that buyers care more about revenue and margin may be wrong. In fact, they want an opportunity to grow and rely on collaboration and innovation to do that.”
In this presentation, Sharon Morris presented findings from the World Commerce and Contracting Association’s recent research, highlighting the current state of B2B Relationship Management, the advantages of deeper collaboration, and the barriers that often hinder progress.
“Our research shows that 29% of the members of an organisation touch a contract in some way but (those involved) don’t have the capabilities to properly fulfil their obligations. And this scenario leads to a lot of challenges,” Sharon said.
“Negotiation timeframes have increased by 13%”, Sharon added, often creating significant delays in business operations. Also, many contracts focus heavily on termination clauses rather than fostering collaborative relationships, and an emphasis on blame rather than solution-finding further hamper effective contract management.
Perhaps most concerning is the revelation that 90% of business people find contracts either hard or impossible to understand. This underscores the urgent need for better contract design and simplification to ensure these crucial documents serve their intended purpose.
Contract technology has proved to be an enabler, with 60% of surveyed participants having implemented a system to store contracts. However, the adoption of other functionality has been erratic and Sharon believes there’s more that can be done to improve outcomes by incorporating automation.
According to Sharon, the keys to successful contracting include establishing a clear scope and objectives from the outset, engaging legal teams early as strategic partners, building in flexibility and shared problem-solving approaches, and ensuring contracts are written in clear, accessible language that all parties can understand and act on.
A Councillor’s Perspective: My Best Community Outcomes through Procurement
Councillor Phyllis Miller, Mayor of Forbes Shire Council, highlighted procurement's vital role in driving positive change for councils and communities. Drawing from her extensive local government experience, she emphasised how procurement teams have been instrumental in building market partnerships that deliver social, sustainable, and economic benefits to their local government area.
While procurement remains central to NSW local government operations, Phyllis acknowledged the challenges of balancing governance requirements with financial goals and continuous service delivery. These challenges are particularly acute in rural areas like Forbes, where the supplier base is limited.
To address these challenges, the Forbes Shire Council has implemented several practical strategies. They maintain a local supplier register to communicate tender opportunities directly to businesses and encourage engagement with Local Government Procurement (LGP). The Council also allows local providers to quote above tender thresholds, reducing competition and simplifying the process.
Phyllis described the council’s proactive approach to supplier education, including regular information sessions about council policies and procurement procedures. These sessions clarify the benefits of LGP contracts and help prepare local businesses for future tender opportunities. The Council's website provides direct links to LGP's forward tender program, making opportunities more accessible.
Case Study: Empowering Sustainable Futures – The Transformative Impact of Revolving Energy Funds
“If there’s money for an energy project, use a Revolving Energy Fund to do it. Start small with a lower-cost project and chase one with some early payback. Don’t let analysis cause paralysis: look online to check how other councils are running these projects and have a go.”
Karen Thorogood spoke on behalf of Wingecarribee Shire Council – a small regional council with a population of 50,000 in an area the size of greater Sydney. The council developed a Revolving Energy Fund (REFund) to support its sustainability initiatives, reduce emissions, and save on electricity costs.
Karen explains how revolving energy funds work by investing seed funding in cost-saving energy projects and then reinvesting those savings to fund other projects. The result is a continuous cycle of investment and energy savings over time. The benefits for councils include significant savings in billed energy consumption and achieving sustainability goals.
Starting with a small grant of around $20,000, Wingecarribee’s fund has grown to a balance of $200,000 in 2024 and is being used to deliver key parts of the community strategic plan and environmental climate change strategy.
Karen explained the many benefits the fund has generated. “To date, 11 energy projects have been completed through the fund and 7 have been completely repaid,” she reported. “The projects have resulted in 1,409 megawatts of solar power generated and used on-site, have reduced GGE by 1,268 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and returned $266,000 of electricity savings back into our fund.”
For councils contemplating a revolving energy fund, Karen’s advice is to start small and work towards larger projects in the longer term. “Our roadmap is to Increase the amount of projects we complete and as we get the savings back into the fund over time we build up the balance to allow us to do more complex and expensive projects,” she said. “This shows the organisation the benefits and allows us to get more money and projects included in the fund as it expands.”
Conference Summary
In a final wrap-up, Luke Kenny, the CEO of Local Government Procurement, reflected on the balance of inspirational content with practical guidance, legislative updates and strategic planning.
The event showcased diverse perspectives on procurement excellence, from Dianne McGrath's inspiring ocean conservation work to Minister Hoenig's understanding of procurement's strategic value in local government. Standout presentations included guidance on measuring procurement success, innovative circular economy and energy funding initiatives, and insights into Indigenous supplier engagement.
He also explained LGP’s strategic agenda, and how it will be undertaking customer journey mapping to better understand its council and supplier communities and how to improve its offerings.
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