The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has become the first municipality in the province to be classified as a “Buy Social” certified municipality, recognizing the fact the RMWB has changed its procurement policies to proactively seek social and economically sustainable benefits for the region. The Municipality will seek to leverage its current spend to achieve desirable and targeted social impact.
“As we re-build, Council stands behind businesses that are willing to go that extra mile and work with us to ensure regional contracts are being fully leveraged to achieve broad societal benefits to our communities,” said Mayor Melissa Blake. “We are proud to be the first municipality in Alberta to take this step – the Social Procurement Framework will really help as we work together to strengthen our region from the ground up.”
The framework was approved in part to help improve small business opportunities and social enterprise access to government contracts. When the municipality buys goods and services it can use its dollars to ensure a desirable and targeted positive social impact by including within the request for proposals things like a Community Benefit Clause to ensure apprenticeships are available, jobs are sourced locally or that public infrastructure like parks or playgrounds are included in what is built.
Recognizing the region’s leadership, Buy Social Canada announced that the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is the first municipality in Alberta to receive the certification. The certification demonstrates the RMWB’s commitment to supporting businesses that enhance social value in our community.
Buy Social Canada is an internationally recognized third-party program that certifies organizations and municipal partners who have demonstrated a commitment to the Buy Social principles and are proactively working to ensure that procurement works to add, rather than diminish, social value in society.
For more information about the Social Procurement Framework, please visit rmwb.ca/MoreSocialValue or call 780-743-7020.
