Meet the Buyer 2025

On Wednesday, June 4th, we attended the Supplier Development Programme Meet the Buyer 2025 event at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.

The day started with the Ministerial Address by Ivan McKee, Minister for Public Finance. Public procurement in Scotland has four key aims: to eradicate child poverty, address the climate emergency, grow the economy and improve public services.

Next, we heard from the Scottish Government about Construction Procurement in Scotland, and we are very interested in the new delivery model for social infrastructure, one of the aims is to drive wider social and economic benefits, which always makes us happy!

Scotland Excel was next. They discussed how they support businesses, and Stephen Brannagan, Director of Customer and Business Services, mentioned Scotland’s new Community Wealth Building Act. A highlight was hearing from one of their suppliers, the Social Enterprise, Scotland’s Bravest, which happens to feature in our Social Business Directory.

Their business offers people the opportunity to get into work and build their own future, and Assistant Director Robert Lappin gave some great advice around Public Contracts Scotland.

We heard from Veolia about Unlocking Net Zero in Scotland and how suppliers can support the growth of their operations here. Finally, we heard how Brakes Scotland is helping local communities through sustainable sourcing, supplier partnerships, and operational growth. You can watch Lorna Allison’s, Regional Marketing and Proposition Manager at Breaks here: https://youtu.be/xOjMQppT3Ns.

We also had time to connect with our partners from The City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh University Procurement Team and Social Enterprise Scotland; it was a great day.