The second European Commission’s Green Public Procurement (GPP) Helpdesk webinar of 2024 will take place on the 17th of September, from 14.30 to 16.00 CET. The event will address the respect of the mandatory horizontal social clause enshrined in Article 18.2 of Directive 2014/24/EU. This clause requires Member States (MS) to ensure compliance with applicable environmental, social and labour laws (obligations established by EU law, national law, collective agreements and eight specified core ILO conventions) in the performance of public contracts. Recent research highlighted that this clause is not always respected and/or that there are shortcomings or uncertainty in its application and enforcement.

The webinar will present some good practices implemented by national and regional authorities, as well as by some contracting authorities across the EU.The webinar will be facilitated by Valentina Caimi (AEIDL). It's the second of four webinars taking place in 2024 as part of the European Commission's Helpdesk Service on GPP.

To register, and see the full programme, click here.

In this webinar, EAFIP will explain what Value Engineering is and dive into the critical aspects of the application of VE using case examples and contributions from experts in the field. The webinar will also provide the opportunity for participants to ask questions before, during and after the sessions.

Value Engineering (VE) is a technique that can trigger innovation during the contract, improve value and produce cost savings. The methodology can be used in different phases of the preparation and implementation of a procurement. In particular, a Value Engineering clause can be used as a procurement technique that allows contractors to present Value Engineering Change Proposals (VECP) during the term of the contract in order to add value and improve solutions with the lowest Total Cost of Ownership.

The webinar is mainly targeted towards European public buyers and innovation procurement centers / hubs, but also suppliers of innovative solutions and policy makers are most welcome to join. The full agenda can be found here
Participation is free of charge, but registration is mandatory.

Finnish Public authorities and social economy entities are invited to take part in a trainig organised as part of the WeBuySocialEU capacity-building efforts. The training – delivered in Finnish – is designed to help stakeholders not only gain much-needed expertise in socially responsible public procurement but also to establish participants as the go-to person within their organisation for advice and expertise in this increasingly important field. The training is specifically tailored to professional and particular contexts, thanks to in-depth research and interviews conducted by national experts in autumn 2023. Apply for the training here by 16 September

For civil servants or public authority employees: You will learn how to design tendering procedures that are accessible to the social economy and include social aspects. You will learn how to include different types of social considerations across the procurement process, how to monitor their execution, as well as improve the knowledge of social economy entities in your country – how and in which markets they operate - to be able to design public tenders that are accessible to them.

For social economy entities: You will learn how to better compete for public tenders that include social considerations. You will discover how to form consortia among social economy entities and with conventional businesses, as well as how to participate in tenders as subcontractors.

The full agenda of the Finish training session can be found here.

The European Commission's WeBuySocialEU initiative seeks to enhance social responsibility in public procurement by building capacity and awareness across the EU.The initiative aims to involve a broad spectrum of stakeholders, starting with public authorities and social economy entities across Europe, through tailored training events and comprehensive outreach on social media platforms. WeBuySocialEU encourages contracting authorities to integrate social considerations into their purchasing policies and practices. Simultaneously, it supports social economy actors in understanding and participating effectively in public procurement procedures. This effort also aims to foster collaboration and mutual understanding between the social economy and the public sector across the EU.

The European Commission training workshop in Finland is organised by ICLEI Europe in cooperation with Silta-Valmennusyhdistys.

More information about the initiative can be found here. To apply, click here. Registration deadline: 16 September

How does digitalisation contribute to advancing circular procurement practices? Aligning digital and green transitions to foster sustainability is key. Optimizing procurement processes with circularity criteria, ethical considerations, and the use of advanced technologies like AI is essential to achieve greater sustainability.

The ECESP Leadership Group on Circular Procurement invites you to join the #EUCircularTalks on Digitalisation for Circular Procurement: Global Insights and Local Applications. This webinar will take place on 27 September at 10:00 – 12:00 CEST on MS Teams, offering valuable insights into global trends, practical tools, and real-world case studies. Participants will learn strategies to mitigate environmental and social impacts associated with ICT procurement and to implement sustainable procurement practices effectively.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore, with specific examples, the transformative potential of digitalization in advancing circular economy goals.

Register here! More information on speakers to follow soon.