CoRa (Corporate Responsibility), in cooperation with Chritian Initiative Romero and Berliner FAIRgabe-Bündnis (Berlin Fair Gift Alliance) is hosting a panel discussion on the reform and strengthening of the sustainability of socially responsible procurementof public procurement law in Germany.

The panel includes members of both the federal government and opposition. The topic for discussion will be how the federal government could strengthen its incorporating of the Europe Union’s strategic objectives in public procurement, and in public procurement law reform in Germany.

Registration is open until 14 April.

For more information, download the programmevia the link below. To register, contact the organisers via the email address below.

IdentiPlast, the European benchmark event for plastics waste recycling and recovery, is headed to Rome (Italy) on 29 and 30 April 2015.

Since 1997, IdentiPlast has established itself a Centre of Excellence where “Best Practices” in the management of plastics waste are exchanged between all relevant stakeholders.

As the European Commission is launching a flagship initiative to pave the way towards a circular economy as it prepares the ground “Towards a circular economy: a zero waste programme for Europe” to establish a common and coherent EU framework to promote the circular economy, such themes will take centre stage at the Rome event.

IdentiPlast 2015 will provide a dynamic forum where delegates will discuss and identify the challenges and opportunities that the circular economy initiative offers.

For more information, visit the event website via the link below.

The second GPP 2020 Italian networking event will take place on 14 May 2015 in Padua (Italy). Organised by Ecosistemi, an Italian organisation for sustainable development and green procurement, the event aims to stimulate ideas and discussion on green public procurement.

The event will also look at exchanging good practice and identify experiences at national level that could benefit from dialogue with experts and other public procurers.

The event is of particular interest for Italian local governments who are involved with the Covenant of Mayors Initiative and want to use green public procurement to help meet their emissions reduction objectives, as well as regional governments and purchasing agencies who wish to share experiences of environmentally-responsible procurement across a variety of sectors.

See the link below for more information, or download the event programme (in Italian).

This intensive workshop will give participants a profound insight into the EU public procurement reforms and the new regulations for European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) in 2014-2020, which require public authorities to set up effective and risk-based measures to prevent fraud and corruption. Furthermore, specific methods to detect and effectively prevent fraud and corruption will be discussed.

Following the approach from practitioners for practitioners, this forum will provide an interactive exchange on the most crucial questions and challenges of Public Procurement law among experts.

As the number of participants is limited, there will be sufficient room for in-depth discussion, expert guidance, case studies and your individual questions.

For more information, visit the Lexxion website via the link below.

ISEAL is hosting an interactive workshop with expert staff providing practical, example-based training that delves into the fundamentals of social and environmental certification systems. The day will also see highlighting of new practices and thinking from the field.

Who is the workshop for?

This workshop is open to all interested organisations and individuals working with sustainability certifications and labels. It is also an excellent opportunity for staff at certification systems to become familiar with the Codes of Good Practice and develop a base level of knowledge in standard-setting, impacts and certification.

Workshops will also take place in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) on 12 December 2014 and London (United Kingdom) on 16 March 2015.

For more information, visit the ISEAL website via the link below.

The 3rd European Conference on e-Public Procurement will take place in Porto (Portugal) all day on 19 May 2015. The conference will compare and discuss approaches to three new directives: 2014/23/UE, 2014/24/UE and 2014/25/UE. Additionally, discussions on the implications of the single digital market on public procurement will also take centre stage.

As well as these topics, which will be addressed in plenary sessions, the conference also includes time for short presentations on a range of e-procurement topics. Sufficient time is given for participants to view all the presentations and pose questions.

For more information, click the link below.

The European Commission’s Directorate General for Environment and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment with the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Club EMAS Catalunya invite participants to attend the 18th European Forum on Eco-innovation in Barcelona.

The Forum will explore how to strengthen competitiveness and innovation, in particular of SMEs, through environmental labelling, management and information schemes.

Amongst other topics, the 18th European Forum on Eco-innovation will also provide an opportunity for participants from across Europe to: gain information on the on-going European Union Ecolabel and Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) evaluations with key messages and recommendations for action; and learn about the first innovative technologies with performance claims verified by Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) and about the Best of Eco-innovation projects funded by the EU Competitiveness and Innovation Programme Eco-innovation initiative.

The Forum is jointly organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Environment and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment with the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Club EMAS Catalunya.

The event language is English. Simultaneous interpretation will be available in Spanish.

For more information, visit the event website via the link below.

Low-carbon public procurement shows tangible results in the fight against climate change all across Europe, saving ten thousands of CO2e emissions. The two European support and implementation projects GPP 2020 and PRIMES offer you an insight into good practice, smart solutions and how to overcome obstacles while driving low-carbon public purchases for supplies (e.g. ICT and Vehicles), services (e.g. mobility services and Energy Performance Contracting) and works (e.g. road infrastructure).

During this one day seminar participants will enter into expert exchange and take part in discussions looking for the solutions of today and tomorrow, jointly exploring how to best use public procurement interventions as a strategic tool to mitigate climate change. The event is brought to you by the Latvian Environmental Investment Fund, the City of Riga as well as the GPP 2020 and PRIMES projects.

For more information, visit the event website, or contact the email address, via the links below.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality in Europe's cities requires a rapid and wide-scale introduction of alternatively-fuelled vehicles in publically-owned fleets. How can this be achieved?

The Clean Fleets project has developed a series of policy recommendations based on its experience of guiding public authorities and fleet operators to implement the EU Clean Vehicles Directive and procure clean and energy-efficient vehicles. The project is inviting public procurers and decision-makers to explore these recommendations at its final workshop in Brussels (Belgium) on 21 May 2015.

The event will also include presentations from public procurers and policy experts from members of the project consortium including ICLEI Europe, City of Stockholm, City of Bremen, City of Rotterdam, Transport for London, POLIS, and TÜV Nord. Participants will also have the opportunity to discuss and debate the issues openly.

For more information and to participate in the workshop, contact info@clean-fleets.eu

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality in European cities requires the rapid and wide-scale inclusion of vehicles using alternative fuels in publicly-owned fleets. But how can this be achieved?

The Clean Fleets project has produced a series of policy recommendations based on working with public authorities to implement the EU Clean Vehicles Directive and procure clean and energy-efficient vehicles. Procurement decision-makers are invited to give their input to these suggestions at the project's final workshop on 21 May 2015 in Brussels (Belgium).

The event will also include presentations from public procurers and policy experts from the Clean Fleets project consortium, including the cities of Bremen, Rotterdam and Stockholm; ICLEI Europe; POLIS; and TÜV Nord. Participants will have the opportunity to debate and discuss the issues together.

For more information and to participate, contact info@clean-fleets.eu