We invite you to join us for the Sustainable Catering Forum - an event that will bring together a mix of learners, thinkers and doers working in the field of sustainable public procurement from all over Europe.

The aim is to learn from each other, exchange experience and build new alliances for the changes needed if we want to respond to the environmental, economic and social challenges that our city-region food systems face. Guidance and experiences gathered over the last three years from the European INNOCAT project, on purchasing eco-innovative catering and food will be on show through our interactive one-day programme.

Starting with practical experience coming from a diverse group of European cities, we will address how public procurement can be used as a strategic tool for:

•Transforming school food services to healthier and more climate-friendly alternatives

•Minimising the environmental impact of hospital catering services

•Decarbonising vending machines available in universities

•Reducing food waste and packaging

•Facilitating market access for SMEs and small suppliers

Participation is free of charge and limited funds are available to cover some expenses (enquire with the organisers).

To register, please fill in your details at bit.ly/innocat-in-ghent

For more information please contact us at innocat@iclei.org or visit the website.

Chatham House, a foreign policy thinktank, is hosting the 26th edition of their series of illegal logging update meetings on 16 and 17 June 2016 in London (United Kingdom). The meeting will address a range of emerging issues central to discussions on the trade in illegal timber, as well as two sessions which will have a regional focus.

Some of the issues covered include progress with the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), next steps for the EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), legislative developments and enforcement to reduce the illegal timber trade, improving transparency and tackling corruption in the sector, and strengthening the legality of mineral and agricultural supply chains. The regional sessions will explore the progress of the VPA in Laos, and human rights issues in Honduras.

The event is expected to attract around 250 participants from civil society, industry, and governments around the world. This year's event will be conducted in English, Mandarin, Spanish and French with simultaneous interpretation available for all languages. Participants are encouraged to register soon to secure their place.

For more information and to register, click here. View the draft agenda attached below.

The Competence Center innovative procurement (KOINNO) will bring together federal and state political institutions, purchasing bodies of local and federal agencies, private companies, technology support, and product providers to show you that innovative sustainable procurement of modern technology can succeed.

The event is free of charge to attend and will start with a welcome and expert panel before lunch, after which participants will go to different workshops to learn more about electric mobility. Cities and local heavyweights, mobility concepts and financing models. At the end of the workshops there will be the possibility to test electric cars.

The event is aimed at procurers and procurement at the federal, state and local governments, and municipal owned companies, whilst dialogue is at the heart of the event in order to learn from each other and to clarify the questions about electric mobility with the experts on site.

For more information and to register, click here.

The EU-funded WaterPiPP project aims to promote innovation public procurement in the water sector. Interested economic operators are invited to take part at an event in Milan (Italy) on 22 June.

The meeting will be a proactive analysis of supply markets, and will be focused on concrete innovation needs presentation by the four ongoing WaterPiPP relevant projects, evidence about the innovative solutions available on the market, as well as on the functional and performance requirements to solve the innovation gaps.

For further details on the participation please see the attached invitation in English and in Italian. Participants are responsible for their own travel, accommodation and other costs.

To register, fill out the online registration form.

The European Sustainable Tropical Timber Coalition (STTC) will hold a conference on 23 June 2016 in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). The conference offers attendees the chance to to discuss challenges, share knowledge and best practice, and network with colleagues from across Europe on successfully implementing and satisfying timber purchasing policies.

The conference will feature a series of presentations on topics such as the challenges of sustainable forest management, how the Netherlands has increased the market share for sustainable timber, and relevant EU policy developments and legislation. Participants can also choose from a series of parallel sessions where they will explore these issues in more detail with members of the STTC consortium.

Participation is free of charge but registration is required. The conference includes a catered lunch and a networking drink after the close of the event. The conference will be held at Rotterdam's World Museum.

For more information and to register, visit the link below or contact joyce.penninkhof@probos.nl

• Introduction, Enrico Degiorgis, European Commission, Directorate General for Environment
• Latest proposals and updates from the European Commission for GPP of food and catering services, Belmira Neto, European Commission, Joint Research Centre
• From the criteria to the market. How to involve suppliers through market engagement to deliver organic and seasonal food, Betina Bergmann Madsen, Municipality of Copenhagen(Denmark)
• Implementing sustainable catering services in public schools; an experience of Torino, Elena Deambrogio, City of Turin (Italy)

Public procurers are invited to visit the Spanish capital of Madrid on 24 June to see first-hand how a publically owned building was renovated to the highest energy-efficiency standards using an innovative kit developed by the iNSPiRe project. The EU-funded project has developed kits capable of reducing the primary energy consumption of buildings which can be installed while occupants remain inside.

Procurers will gain a valuable insight into the latest innovations on the construction market and will learn of the challenges faced and solutions achieved in renovating a municipal-owned residential building. The case study building has been converted to nearly-zero energy with minimal disruption to residents.

Participation in the event is free of charge, but early registration is required to secure a place. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements. The EU-funded iNSPiRe project aims to decrease energy consumption in residential and office buildings through the application of innovative methods.

For more information and to register, click here.