Development of concepts
For many years, the single most important indicator in the practice of public purchasing was the economic factor. Environmental and social factors were seldom if ever taken into account. However, the importance of non-economic factors in public procurement increased significantly with the development of the concept of sustainable development, understood as
‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.
The path towards Sustainable Public Procurement
The crucial milestone for the development of Sustainable Public Procurement in Europe was the Gothenburg European Council (June 2001)and the adoption of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. The philosophy of this strategy is that economic, social and environmental objectives could be pursued simultaneously adding an environmental dimension to the Lisbon Process, launched in March 2000. (In the Lisbon Strategy, the EU aims to become ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’ by 2010.)
The three pillars of Sustainable Development
| ECONOMY |
SOCIETY |
ENVIRONMENT |
Public Procurement spending amounts to as much as 16% of the EU’s gross domestic product, which is a sum equivalent to the GDP of Germany. This purchasing power can have a significant impact on the market by influencing the suppliers and setting an example for private procurements. Through adopting the principles of sustainable development to the public procurement procedures, public authorities can provide the industry with incentives to develop new and better technologies and encourage sustainable patterns of behaviour.
Sustainable Public Procurement
Sustainable Public Procurement means that contracting authorities take into account all three pillars of sustainable development when procuring goods, services or works at all stages of the project. |
Green Public Procurement
Green Public Procurement means that contracting authorities take into account environmental elements when procuring goods, services or works at all stages of the project and within the entire life-cycle of procured goods. |
Practical differences
The relevance and practical application of the environmental aspects of a public procurement can be demonstrated rather easily. Green requirements can be specified in the technical demands for the production technology and the selection of materials. Performance and quality standards included in the technical specification can be easily defined and introduced at any stage of the procurement process. In most cases, environmental requirements related to the production process or the product itself are relevant to characterise a product and can hence be used to describe it in the tender documents of a public tender.
The relevance and specification of social and ethical aspects of sustainable procurement is much more difficult to demonstrate as it is often difficult to demonstrate their effect on the characterisation of the final product. Additional problems arise in terms of objective verification and quantitative benchmarking of effects and benefits that would allow for accurate and fair evaluation of tenders.
Examples of social procurement
Procurement of ethically-labelled products
The purchase of products that are ethically-labelled (e.g. Fairtrade label) guarantees that the producers receive a minimum price. This covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects.
Green Procurement from suppliers that employ unemployed, disadvantaged and minority groups |
