Eco-innovation can be an answer to the question of how to live within the limits of our planet. It can offer viable solutions for supporting economic development, job creation, and recovery from the economic crisis while taking care of the environment. There are still big disparities in eco-innovation
performance among EU regions with many facing operational and capability challenges preventing them from making a right choice of policy instruments and methods to implement workable strategies and plans.

The analysis of 7 interregional cooperation projects and around 100 good practices shows that in promoting sustainable development in regions via eco-innovation there is a role for regional government, private sector, SMEs, knowledge organisations, clusters, incubators, and civil society organisations. This publication outlines the evidence-based policy recommendations addressed for these various stakeholders.

This paper examines governments’ efforts to use public procurement policy to promote the use of legal and sustainable timber, with the aims of reducing deforestation and illegal logging and encouraging sustainable forestry.

As there already exist plenty of material and information sources on green criteria for tenders, the guidelines provide advice on relevant management aspects from the definition of needs to contract management and interaction with other contracts or departments, in order to improve efficiency and coherence in procurement practices and management, but it also provides reference to green tender criteria sources).

In order to monitor progress on the level of implementation of the GPP Action Plan of the Spanish Central Government and its autonomous bodies, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment hired the monitoring of the GPP Action Plan.
Last 4th of November, the Council of Ministries approved the Agreement that notes the first report on the level of GPP, that summarizes the preliminary results gathered from 49 organisations through a questionnaire.

The town of Venelles near Aix-en-Provence has made a strong commitment to reducing its environmental footprint. As part of this commitment, the Mayor and Council of Venelles have supported the implementation of a comprehensive GPP policy since 2007, covering most municipal procurement projects. A recent tender for cleaning products offered the opportunity to put this policy into action. By including criteria for the environmental performance of the products used in its schools, Venelles was able to achieve a healthier setting for students and staff while also reducing the impact associated with the production and packaging of products. A majority of the products purchased are eco-labelled and fully biodegradable. 96 percent of all the products supplied come in refillable packs and with environmentally friendly packaging. Training has also been provided to cleaning personnel on how to use reduced amounts of the products and water.

In 2006, the Danish Government launched the national Governmental Procurement Programme, which aims to streamline the public tendering process and standardise services provided to national government departments and agencies. Under the umbrella of this programme, in January 2012 the Danish Agency for the Modernisation of Public Administration launched a joint framework contract for cleaning services in Denmark’s government departments and agencies. The tender for cleaning services sets out minimum environmental requirements that will need to be met by service providers working with all government departments and agencies. The framework contract is divided into five lots, each of which covers government departments and agencies located in one of the country’s five regions. Five companies were selected through the pre-qualification process to deliver cleaning services that utilize ecolabelled products, use reduced amounts of water and energy as well as minimize hazards to human health and the environment.

The Municipality of Cognac decided to use overarching sustainable development criteria as part of its new print strategy, which involved the consolidation of all printed services. Cognac is part of Reseau Grand Ouest (RGO), a cross-sectoral network of organisations committed to driving sustainable development through public procurement. The sustainable development criteria used as part of this tender process were put together in collaboration with other members of RGO. Those tendering for the eight lots under the framework agreement for print services were awarded for offering materials which are printed on recycled paper, or derived from forests certified as being sustainably managed. Points were also available for using vegetable-based inks, which are non-toxic to humans and the environment. The sustainability criteria have been fulfilled by the successful bidders at no extra cost to the municipality, in fact the consolidation of the print orders has reduced costs significantly, as well as the frequency of deliveries of printed materials.