IS ALL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE? A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF SOME PROCUREMENT PROJECTS

This paper outlines sustainable procurement policy, which aims to benefit society and the economy and minimise damage to the environment. It uses cost-benefit analysis to evaluate a variety of sustainable procurement policies (road construction, video conferencing, LED traffic lights, and utilising unemployed people). It shows under what conditions sustainable procurement is likely to benefit the economy and society. The paper also reveals the impact of project life, the discount rate, and the social price of carbon in determining the social profitability of some sustainable procurement policies. It reveals that the social profitability of projects is mixed, and suggests that sustainable development policy in the UK is running ahead of the evidence base.