This Procurement Policy Note (PPN) launches a new model to deliver social value through government's commercial activities.

The city of Bremen commissioned the new report ‘Beyond Buying: how can the circular economy principles feed sustainable public procurement policies and practices?’ to outline how municipalities can include circular economy principles into their procurement policies and practices. The report also makes policy recommendations to support these efforts and mainstream sustainability across the procurement process.

This white paper written within the framework of the BELT (boost energy label take up) project is summarising key provisions of the new EU energy labelling system and providing recommendations to public procurers for complying with the regulations.

As a contracting authority, you don’t want to buy the cheapest solution. You want the solution which holds the most benefit for you in the long run. The Office Indoor Lighting LCC-Tool (Life Cycle Costing tool) will help you to find that solution! This tool will help you calculate and estimate the purchase price for your indoor lighting project, the total cost of ownership and the (external) environmental costs that the project comprises. The tool can be used for acquiring as well as leasing indoor lighting.

This second edition of ‘Buying social: A guide to taking account of social considerations in public procurement’ provides practical indications for public buyers to consider the social impact of the goods, services, and works they purchase. The guide is updated to reflect the changes brought about by the 2014 EU directives on public procurement and includes suggestions on how to use public procurement to achieve social goals. It covers the entire procurement process step-by-step, including information on how to set up an organisational strategy for socially responsible public procurement (SRPP), how to plan the tender procedure, as well as elements of contract management. To inspire public buyers, as well as other government and non-governmental stakeholders, each section also includes best practice examples and practical takeaways.

This dialogue-based, strategic approach looks beyond the tendering phase to develop relationships with the market before and after tendering. One common format is hosting a dialogue event. However, organising such an event is not as straightforward. This guide aims to support public authorities in this regard by providing a set of practical steps on how to plan a market dialogue event, online or in-person.

The purpose of this guide is to explore the practical application of the legal framework that public authorities can use to contribute to innovation and responsibility in procuring public services.

This declaration from the german federal procurement office addresses the following questions: How can procurers in public procurement take responsibility from bidders for ensuring that human rights are respected by all participants in complex ICT supply chains? In what way can the contracting authority take on this responsibility for the public sector? How can the requirements be designed in such a way that bidders can take on the required responsibility and are able to submit bids?

There are eight fundamental design strategies in this practical ‘Circular professional textiles’ guide. The collection of information has been aligned with insights gained during the Professional textiles research, carried out by Centexbel, the belgian knowledge centre for textiles, on behalf of OVAM. This guide aims to inspire those producing and using professional textiles and encourage them to include their textiles in the circular economy.