Pursuing its objective of having a zero-emission vehicle fleet by 2015, the City of Oslo has concluded a framework agreement to replace a thousand cars and vans with environmentally friendly options in the years to come. The move feeds into the City’s “zero-emission technology” policy, established in 2010. A range of pre-procurement activities were undertaken by Oslo prior to setting up the framework agreement, which included a thorough testing phase of the new vehicles by their users, and extensive communication of the City’s policy for vehicles. The latter included a dialogue with all major suppliers about Oslo’s plans. As road transport contributes to 55% of overall direct emissions in Oslo, the current practice will put the City on the right path for meeting its climate policy goals.

In this issue we look at green public procurement and at the more overall issue of financing for green investments. In both cases, we look at the Nordic synergies and the potential for creating better framework conditions for government, businesses and organizations alike by looking at the issues through a Nordic lens.