On 30 May this year, Barcelona City Council was awarded first prize in the Sustainability category and second prize in Public Sector Procurement category for their More Sustainable City Council programme. The Diamond Purchase Award was presented by AERCE, the Spanish Association of Professionals in Procurement, in the third of this series of annual awards celebrating the best procurement projects of the year.

The competition aimed to highlight the strategic nature of the work carried out by procurement personnel and to show how important the profession is in stimulating the development of an organisation. The awards were comprised of 10 categories altogether, the winners of which were chosen for their use of innovation, originality or the potential to replicate by other organisations. The award panel, made up of members of the Directors board of AERCE, also recognised the consideration of social responsibility and the integration of people with physical disabilities.

Particular recognition was given to Barcelona City Council for their pre-procurement engagement of the market when purchasing electric vehicle charging stations and green vending machines. The City benefitted from tools and guidance provided by the SMART SPP project and is a founder Member of the Procura+ Sustainable Procurement Campaign, which aims to; support public authorities in implementing sustainable public procurement (SPP), promote achievements and foster exchange on good practice from public procurers and experts internationally.

For further information (in Spanish) please click here.