Recommendation N 43 Sustainable Procurement

Procurement usually prioritizes cost aspects; however, it is becoming increasingly important to consider an appropriate balance between financial, environmental and social considerations. This recommendation proposes an approach to both sustainable public-sector procurement as well as sustainable private-sector procurement. It provides key references in this area and offers a sample code of conduct in annex. The purpose of this document is to identify a minimal, common set of policies, standards and good practices that will allow buying corporations to comply with sustainability principles without burdening their MSME suppliers with additional administrative tasks that would go against the good principles of trade facilitation. From a methodological point of view, the concept of sustainability is conceived here according to an integrated perspective—encompassing environmental, social and economic impacts in order to avoid the limiting processes of “Greening the Economy”.

Procurement usually prioritizes cost aspects; however, it is becoming increasingly important to consider an appropriate balance between financial, environmental and social considerations. This recommendation proposes an approach to both sustainable public-sector procurement as well as sustainable private-sector procurement. It provides key references in this area and offers a sample code of conduct in annex. The purpose of this document is to identify a minimal, common set of policies, standards and good practices that will allow buying corporations to comply with sustainability principles without burdening their MSME suppliers with additional administrative tasks that would go against the good principles of trade facilitation. From a methodological point of view, the concept of sustainability is conceived here according to an integrated perspective—encompassing environmental, social and economic impacts in order to avoid the limiting processes of “Greening the Economy”.

The worldwide consumption of resources is causing environmental damage at a rate that cannot be sustained. Apart from the resulting environmental and health problems, this trend could threaten economic growth due to rapidly decreasing natural resources and the cost of addressing these issues. The public sector has a responsibility to stimulate the marketplace in favor of the provision of more resource-efficient and less polluting goods, services, and works in order to support environmental and wider sustainable development objectives. Green Public Procurement Strategies for Environmental Sustainability provides innovative insights on the adoption and implementation of green public procurement for sustainable practice in order to contribute to environmental protection. The content within this publication examines climate change, sustainable development, and document analysis and is designed for policymakers, environmentalists, managers, suppliers, development agencies, government officials, academicians, researchers, students, and professionals.

With governments responsible for significant portions of national spending, the promise of including sustainability considerations into that spending can enable policy makers to lead by example with sustainable public procurement (SPP). The report examines the state of sustainable public procurement policies and practices being undertaken by national governments worldwide in the last five years. The research included a comprehensive literature and desktop review, 19 interviews, six country case studies and a survey of 273 SPP experts worldwide. The objective was to create a baseline analysis that examines the evolving field of SPP and the drivers, barriers, needs and opportunities in SPP.

Public Procurement accounts for 6.5 trillion euros annually and plays a fundamental role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. All public services and functions depend on public procurement to be delivered. This report aims to draw attention to the “added value” that sustainable public procurement can contribute towards these goals, directly or indirectly, going beyond delivering core public sector objectives. The report establishes clear linkages between Sustainable Public Procurement and the SDG targets, and aims to validate those linkages with specific and real-life case studies from Nordic settings.

Procurement is playing an increasingly strategic role as a lever for sustainable development and social and environmental responsibility. Greater regulation on sustainable procurement in the public sector, including significant changes to the EU Directive in April 2014, are driving this change.This comprehensive guide to sustainable procurement by practising legal experts Colleen Theron and Malcolm Dowden distils key developments in EU and UK public sustainable procurement legislation, government guidance and policy; provides an introduction to sustainable procurement more broadly; provides case studies and practical examples on contractual aspects of procurement; shows you how to set up a sustainable procurement strategy; and contributes to the development of sustainable procurement policy. There is also increased emphasis on "clean" supply chains in the private sector, as best practice seeks to mesh with public sector requirements and reduce the risk that bids for public contracts might be undermined by adverse environmental impacts or social misconduct along the supply chain.Private sector companies should act now to establish best practice sustainable procurement principles to minimize the risk of litigation; several international standards are embedding the principles of sustainable procurement into their requirements.The book also offers practical examples of what sustainable procurement entails, whether the organization is bidding for public sector contracts, in need of meeting tender requirements, looking to obtain certification for a standard, or is simply seeking to improve its supply chain management and implement best practice.

This working paper describes a methodology for how Sustainable Public Procurement links with the Sustainable Development Goals. The methodology was used to describe 17 cases for each of the sustainable development goals in the report 'Sustainable Public procurement and the Sustainable Development Goals'.

The business case for sustainability is clear and organizations are responding to the imperative to act. But with 50-70% of the change needed involving the supply base, procurement and supply chain functions are critical to success. Sustainable Procurement explains how procurement and supply chain professionals can develop existing best practice approaches to make supply side sustainability a reality. Based around the OMEIA® Sustainable Procurement process, this book provides a step-by-step and highly practical methodology that embeds sustainable procurement into existing proven procurement approaches. It also provides crucial new tools that equip and enable those in this field to drive highly effective supply-side sustainability. By exploring the current landscape and the business case for sustainability, Sustainable Procurement makes sense of how we can translate good ambition into prioritised grass roots level change. Guidance is offered on how procurement can help redefine what an organisation does based upon what needs to change in its supply base. There are extensive resources to help determine hot spot risk areas, assess suppliers, and determine and prioritise where to direct our precious resources. It also provides new models for 'sustainable value engineering' to help organisations transform what and how they buy. Written by leading procurement expert and best-selling author, Jonathan O'Brien, this practical guide outlines how to establish sustainable procurement as a key strategic enabler to reduce supply-side risk and drive action to respond to detrimental impacts in the supply base.