A Pagabo survey of 171 procurement professionals finds two‑thirds doubt the achievability of the government’s 2035 Net Zero target, with cost pressures, unclear funding routes and thin regional supply chains cited as major barriers — prompting Executive Compass to call for earlier market engagement, reweighted tender scoring and targeted regional support.
A new white paper from national framework provider Pagabo has exposed deep scepticism within public‑sector procurement about the UK’s near‑term decarbonisation ambitions — and prompted warnings from bid consultancy Executive Compass that current procurement practice risks undermining the national effort.
According to Pagabo’s research, which surveyed 171 procurement professionals across 147 public bodies, 65 per cent of respondents do not believe the government’s 2035 Net Zero target — described in the report as an 81 per cent reduction in emissions from current levels — is achievable. The survey found widespread variation across regions, with confidence particularly low where specialist supply chains are thin, such as the South West. Pagabo also reports that 59 per cent of those questioned face significant barriers to meeting their own net‑zero plans and that 13 per cent have no formal strategy or action plan in place.
Cost and funding complexity emerged as the dominant obstacles. Three quarters of respondents say cost takes priority over sustainability most or all of the time in decarbonisation procurement decisions, and many cited skills shortages and capacity constraints. Pagabo’s findings further indicate that 40 per cent of organisations find funding routes unclear and 69 per cent experience problems when applying for finance, even as 78 per cent say they do consider sustainability in procurement and 55 per cent monitor social‑value outcomes.
Executive Compass has seized on those results to underline the practical implications for suppliers bidding for public contracts. Christian Rowe, chief executive of Executive Compass, said in response to the report: “Public procurement will be central to meeting net zero goals. If cost continues to outweigh sustainability in decision‑making, there is a real risk that environmental and social value benefits will be sidelined, making it even harder to meet national targets.” The consultancy argues such trends risk treating social value as an optional extra rather than a core scoring criterion.
The debate comes as the Cabinet Office takes forward a public consultation intended to build on the Procurement Act 2023. The consultation proposes further reforms to sharpen procurement’s contribution to jobs, skills and British industry and to simplify how social value is applied in tendering. Government guidance published alongside the Act highlights new flexibilities — including a competitive flexible procedure, a proposed central digital platform to streamline market access, enhanced transparency via a procurement review function and strengthened prompt‑payment provisions — all measures intended to make contracting more accessible for smaller suppliers and social enterprises.
Pagabo itself places procurement frameworks at the centre of the solution, presenting a suite of decarbonisation frameworks and professional services aimed at simplifying commissioning, pre‑approving specialist contractors and supporting funding bids. The company says those routes are designed to reduce procurement friction and help contracting authorities access the technical expertise and delivery partners needed for energy‑efficiency, retrofit and other decarbonisation works at scale.
Yet the research suggests that frameworks and guidance alone will not be enough without changes to how tenders are run. Executive Compass calls for earlier market engagement between buyers and suppliers to give clearer signals about funding and technical expectations, targeted support to address regional skills and supply‑chain gaps, and a reweighting of tender evaluation to give social value and sustainability more influence alongside cost. The consultancy also warns that without consistent funding access and region‑specific support, reforms could fail to translate into deliverable projects on the ground.
There are practical tensions to resolve. Many contracting authorities are operating under acute budget constraints and delivery timetables; the immediate pressures of cost and capacity often trump longer‑term community and carbon benefits. Pagabo’s white paper frames this as a solvable combination of clearer funding routes, better data and tools to support retrofit work, and upskilling of local supply chains — but acknowledges that policy, procurement practice and market readiness must align.
Where the balance is struck will matter deeply. Procurement accounts for a large share of public sector demand for construction, estates and services that drive operational emissions. If tenders continue to privilege short‑term cost over lifecycle carbon and community outcomes, meeting national targets will become more difficult and more expensive in the long run, the report and its critics argue.
Both Pagabo and Executive Compass point to opportunity as well as risk. The Cabinet Office consultation offers a policy window to simplify processes and embed social value more consistently; Pagabo’s frameworks offer practical procurement routes; and industry groups have begun flagging the kinds of early engagement, standardised funding guidance and regional capacity‑building that would make tenders more deliverable. For procurement to become a net‑zero accelerant rather than an obstacle, stakeholders say, that combination of regulatory reform, practical commissioning tools and active buyer–supplier collaboration must be pursued with urgency.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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