The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is now firmly established as a procurement vehicle to deliver public services with approximately 500 operational contracts in the UK and a future project pipeline valued at £23.3bn over the next 5 years (source HM Treasury). Major uses of PFI include the provision of schools, hospitals and roads. The use of PFI is not restricted to the UK and is being used by an increasing number of countries.

But what is the impact of PFI on sustainability performance? Does the nature of PFI encourage and facilitate the incorporation of sustainability into a project, or does PFI inhibit sustainability?

This CIPS Knowledge Now looks at some of the key arguments for and against PFI as a means of delivering sustainable procurement and suggests several actions that may be taken to ensure sustainability is taken into account.