Australian Government
ICT Sustainability Plan 2010-2015
FACT SHEET 3:
Evaluation measures and weightings
The Australian Government ICT Sustainability Plan 2010-2015 (the Plan) introduces a
number of strategies and actions aimed at assisting agencies to better manage the
environmental performance and impacts of the information and communications technology
(ICT) they procure and use. Section 2 of the Plan focuses on improving sustainable ICT
procurement within Australian Government agencies. The Plan introduces six mandatory
environmental standards into ICT procurement processes to establish minimum levels of
environmental performance for suppliers and ICT products. By doing so, the Australian
Government intends to engage responsible suppliers and procure ICT products and services
with low environmental loads.
Consequently, a requisite in the tender process is to establish an appropriate evaluation
measure that recognises the importance of environmental criteria when selecting suppliers,
products and/or services.
Tender entry requirements
The way in which environmental requirements are included in a tender process will depend
on the type and method of ICT procurements being undertaken. The mandatory
environmental standards (plus other environmental criteria) can be included in the following
components of tender documents:
 conditions for participation
 statement of requirements/works
 draft contract, and
 a draft supplier declaration (such as the ES6 EMS requirement).
Appropriate recognition of environmental criteria
While there are mandatory environmental standards in the above tender components,
agencies will also need to give the environmental criteria appropriate recognition in the
tender planning, design and evaluation phases.
The ICT Sustainability Plan on page 15 states: “Agencies will include an appropriate
evaluation measure or weighting for environmental criteria within ICT procurement
evaluations”.
This means that the environmental criteria will be scored in a similar way to other key
evaluation criteria – such as technical worth and capability, product quality, service levels
and pricing. As such, environment will be part of the overall ranking process to select a
preferred supplier.
The evaluation measuring system
An agency may have the following evaluation measuring system for the supply of desktop
services in order to assess a tender response.
Evaluation category for desktop services
Product performance
Product quality
Product environmental aspects
Supplier support
Supplier service levels
Supplier social responsibility
Pricing
Total
www.environment.gov.au/sustainability/government
Score
100
75
75
100
100
50
200
700
% Allocation
14
11
11
14
14
7
29
100
6/2011
ICT Sustainability Plan Fact Sheet 3: Evaluation measures and weightings
2
In this case, 18 per cent has been allocated to the environment and social responsibility
(refer to Fact Sheet 2), with 11 per cent for product environmental aspects and 7 per cent for
supplier social responsibility.
The agency may also weight or score the criteria within these categories depending on the
importance of one criteria compared to other criteria in the category. For example ES1
EPEAT Silver or equivalent may be scored (or weighted) higher than other criteria given ES1
addresses (or minimises) numerous environmental loads.
Types of contracts
The environmental value allocated in the tender evaluation will depend on the type of
contract. It will also depend on the inherent risk to the environment and sustainability of
resources, as well as risks associated with loss of Australian Government reputation. For
example, a copy paper contract may carry a high environmental importance due to the risk of
procuring illegally logged timber and/or competition for productive land use. As such, the
environmental value for evaluation purposes may be regarded as a higher value (or is more
important) in copy paper contracts than in other contracts.
Examples of percentage allocations for overall environmental criteria (product & supplier) are
listed below for different types of contracts.
Type of contract
Desktop and peripheral services
LAN/WAN services
Telecommunications and mobile services
Copy paper supplies
Other office supplies and consumables
Large office machines (such as MFDs)
Data centre equipment (such as servers and storage)
% allocation
15-30
10-30
10-30
20-40
10-20
15-30
15-30
Coordinated procurement
Where coordinated procurement panel arrangements are in place, agencies should use
similar evaluation techniques to rank the preferred supplier, product and/or service, based
on the business requirements of an agency. This process will deliver the most beneficial
business outcome (including environmental) for both the agency and the Australian
Government.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities.
www.environment.gov.au/sustainability/government
6/2011