Public buyers take concrete steps toward sustainable and circular transformations at Procura+ Conference 2024

The Procura+ Conference 2024 convened over 220 government officials, industry leaders and procurement practitioners in Lisbon (Portugal) for its 11th edition. The conference theme “Step Changes for Big Impact'' demonstrated how public buyers across Europe are taking steps to leverage public procurement as a driver of sustainable and circular transformations.

Mayor of Malmö and President of ICLEI Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh highlighted how important conferences such as Procura+ are for the further development of sustainable public procurement. “ICLEI has been organising these Conferences for 25 years, showcasing great steps, successes and experiences. Now it is time to take another big step forward. Climate neutrality is not enough. Our sustainable solutions cannot deepen social inequities. We need a fair and inclusive transformation, that requires us to work with all perspectives. This is why in the city of Malmö all purchases must take social, environmental and economic responsibility into account. Public procurement can be a driving force to reshape the market and our societies.”

Key highlights from the conference included sessions, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Circular Flanders, Rijkswaterstaat, TCO Development and the Institute of Brilliant Failures, on professionalising public procurement and learning through experience. The conference also offered case studies such as the City of Lisbon’s Sustainable Procurement Management System and the CO2 Performance Ladder among others. Meanwhile, interactive workshops focused on urban development, innovation, circular economy, just transitions and the transformation of the food system.

As noted by Carlos Moedas, mayor of Lisbon, Portugal's capital was a fitting host for the Conference: "In Lisbon, we are turning the idea of sustainability into reality. And we are doing so by leading by example. We're doing it by making an impact on people's lives. We are making sustainable procurement within our municipality a reality. And I am honored to be able to say that we are very close to achieving 100% sustainable procurement in the Lisbon City Council. This is a great achievement."

Mayor Moedas' words were further reinforced by Mark Hidson, Global Director of ICLEI’s Sustainable Procurement Centre: “Lisbon were fantastic hosts for an extraordinary gathering of procurers from across the world. The Procura+ 2024 Conference was about renewing inspiration, strengthening networks, and a shared commitment to catalysing step changes for big impact in procurement practices. The momentum generated during the conference sets the stage for continued collaboration in the transition to a more sustainable, just and resilient way forward.”

Image copyright: Armindo Ribeiro

2024 Procura+ Awards reveal winners in three categories

The Norwegian Central Procurement Body, the City of Malmö (Sweden) and the City of Lisbon (Portugal) were the big winners of the 2024 Procura+ Awards, revealed during the 2024 Procura+ Conference.

The Norwegian Central Procurement Body won in the category Sustainable Procurement of the Year, with its call for tender for a framework agreement for the reuse and recycling of ICT equipment. The requested services included collection, transport, secure data disposal, and sorting of ICT equipment for reuse or recycling. Requirements were also set for worklife inclusion, adding a social aspect to the contract. In order to give priority to bidders with business strategies that maximise reuse over recycling and with profit-sharing models more advantageous for the administration, the contract award criteria were divided between quality (70%) and price (30%) criteria. The finalists in this category were the Dutch Custodial Institution Agency and the Greater London Authority (United Kingdom).

The City of Malmö (Sweden) won in the Innovation Procurement of the Year category for developing procurement criteria based on universal design principles. The tender specifications outlined the seven principles of universal design, as defined by the Centre for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, and required furniture to meet at least the first two principles (e.g. equitable use and flexibility of use). The city also developed "variety cards" that provide guidance to designers and others working to improve accessibility and usability. By encouraging suppliers to systemically take into consideration accessibility issues, the City of Malmö is promoting an integral approach to accessibility and inclusion and ensuring that the approach is sustained in the longer term. The finalists in this category were the Municipality of Bodø (Norway) and the Belgian Agency for Roads and Traffic.

Finally, the category Procurement Initiative of the Year saw the City of Lisbon (Portugal) winning, for developing a Sustainable Procurement Management System in line with the recommendations of the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement standard. Its objective was to establish a systematic framework ensuring that all public procurement processes within the municipality are developed within responsible, transparent, fair, and ecological principles. The approach was designed to provide clear guidance and strategies to facilitate easy application of sustainability criteria in all procurement processes. This involved implementing stringent measures to prioritise environmental and social responsibility, transparency, and equitable access for all stakeholders, aspiring to exceed legal and ethical requirements, setting a higher standard for sustainable procurement in the public sector. The finalists in this category were Barcelona City Council (Spain) and the Lithuanian Public Procurement Office.

More information about the winners and finalists can be found here.

Image copyright: Armindo Ribeiro

Public buyers share knowledge at BBWT's first annual event

The Big Buyers Working Together (BBWT) team organised its first in-person annual conference on 24 April. The event offered a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge, forging connections, exchanging insights, and weaving the fabric of collaboration among public buyers on innovative and sustainable procurement. With participation from all 10 communities of practice that are part of the BBWT project, the discussions covered three key themes: green/digital, social, and health procurement.

Public procurement can be a catalyst for innovation. By better structuring and organising demand, it becomes easier for innovative startups to participate in public procurement projects. That is one of the reasons behind the Big Buyers Working Together project, which aims to produce impact on the market, leverage buying power, and share collective intelligence.

The consortium of Eurocities, BME and ICLEI that coordinates Big Buyers on behalf of the European Commission spent the first year developing a needs assessment and building engagement, helping to shape the 10 communities of practice: Zero-Emission Construction Sites; Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles; Circular Construction; Sustainable Solar Panels; Mobility; Digital; Social; New European Bauhaus; Healthcare Efficiency; Healthcare Sustainability. In the next year these Communities of Practice will cooperate through site visits, market studies and benchmarking to gain a better understanding of the main challenges in their sectors and to see how they can best move the market forward.

The panel discussion on the key challenges for public procurers made clear why a project like Big Buyers Working Together is needed. Participants noted that many sustainability initiatives lack political commitment to continue them after their success. Furthermore, there is a fear of high costs, especially when procuring new or zero-emission technologies, and of increasing administrative burdens. Finally sustainable procurement can be a challenge for beginners as it requires different skills and a better understanding of the European legal framework, which provides public buyers much more opportunities to procure sustainably than they sometimes believe.

By pooling their resources through projects such as Big Buyers Working Together, public buyers can overcome many of these challenges. The project helps capacity building, enables a more efficient use of resources, and gain more power to influence the market to become more social and environmentally friendly. More information about Big Buyers Working Together, and its Communities of Practice, can be found here. Public authorities interested in joining a Community of Practice, are encouraged to send an email to Big Buyers Working Together Secretariat, at big.buyers@eurocities.eu.

Image copyright: ICLEI

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CO2 Performance Ladder pilot launches in the UK and France

The CO2 Performance Ladder has expanded to France and the UK, following its succesfull implementation in the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland.

The CO2 Performance Ladder is the Dutch sustainability instrument that allows companies and governments to easily and effectively reduce CO2 within their operations, their projects and in their supply chain. The Ladder is used as a procurement tool and a CO2 management system and helps governments buy green and make a significant impact on the climate, by giving sustainable companies a (financial) advantage in tenders.

To roll out the pilot in France, SKAO, the administrator of the CO2 Performance Ladder, is working with its French partner Asea, which is coordinating the pilot. Asea has formed a consortium with three leading contracting authorities that will work with the Ladder: La Poste (the largest postal service provider), RTE (the grid operator in France) and UGAP (National Public Procurement Agency). The combined procurement volume of these organisations is huge and will provide a strong incentive to buy green.

In the UK, Action Sustainability will collaborate with leading government bodies to initiate the pilot project within selected tenders, fostering a culture of sustainability and environmental stewardship in UK procurement practices. Transport for London will be the first major contracting authority to pilot the Ladder in tenders.

For more information on this tool, the newest Procura+ Interest Group on the CO2 Performance Ladder brings together participants who wish to exchange insights and experiences on the current practices, challenges and ambitions for reducing CO2 emissions in their procurement activities and receive hands-on instruction on how a tools such as the CO2 Performance Ladder can be piloted and implemented in specific procurement processes of their organisations.

Image copyright: David Marmier

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