Editorial

Environment Agency extends Capgemini contract

Deal trying to be the ‘greenest in government’ gets pushed out for a further 18 month after seven successful years, say both parties

Posted 16 March 2017 by Gary Flood


The Environment Agency has asked its outsourcing partner Capgemini to keep supplying it IT services for a further 18 months.

That means a relationship that began in 2009 will continue and continue to be a key part of a drive to modernise provision of tech at the Agency, an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

The outsourcing contract is also attempting to reduce duplication and cost while transforming end-user services at Defra, says the government.

When the contract was announced in 2009, it was scheduled to last seven years with an aim to be the “greenest in government”.

The contract will be managed through the latter’s UnITy programme, a framework for procurement that aims to provide modern, common ICT services to the department.

Claimed successes of the relationship so far include a new IT platform to support the Agency long-term, “an agile response to the most recent flooding crisis” and a claim of a direct Agency reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 1,500 tonnes.

The project has won the 2016 ISG Paragon Award for ‘Pragmatic Project Delivery’ and was shortlisted for the Green IT Project of the Year category at the 2015 Business Green Leaders Awards

Commenting on the extension, Chris Howes, Defra Deputy Chief Technology Officer, said: “We are delighted with the opportunity to continue our work with Capgemini as a result of this contract extension.

“This represents an excellent deal for us both [as] it will enable a smooth transition of services across Defra and the Environment Agency, providing us with a greater level of resilience, business continuity and stability, essential for our business, our teams and our customers.”