Green Public Procurement Advisory Group
The GPP Advisory Group is an expert group composed of representative of the EU Member States and the following stakeholders: Business Europe, UEAPME (small and medium enterprises association), European Environment Bureau/BEUC (European Consumer Organisation), ICLEI.
The role of the Group is to provide advice to the European Commission on the development and implementation of GPP policies.
Find out more about the latest activities of the group.
Green Public Procurement National Action Plans
In 2003, the European Commission in its Communication on Integrated Product Policy (IPP) encouraged Member States to draw up publicly available National Action Plans (NAPs) for greening their public procurement.
The NAPs should contain an assessment of the existing situation and ambitious targets for the next three years, specifying what measures will be taken to achieve them. The NAPs are not legally-binding but provide political impetus to the process of implementing and raising awareness of greener public procurement. They allow Member States to choose the options that best suit their political framework and the level they have reached.
A table summarising the situation of the NAPs is available in Circabc.
Austrian Action Plan for Sustainable Public Procurement: naBe action plan
Documents related to GPP:
National level: used by the federal and regional procurers:
http://www.guidedesachatsdurables.be/
Government of Flanders:
https://overheid.vlaanderen.be/duurzame-innovatieve-overheidsopdrachten
They joined forced with the Dutch Government to offer public buyers an SPP criteria tool.
Brussels Capital city level:
https://environnement.brussels/thematiques/consommation-durable/marches-publics-durables
https://greenpublicprocurement.environnement.brussels/ (registration & password needed)
Strategy and Action Plan for the Transition to a Circular Economy for the period 2022-2027.
https://www.strategy.bg/StrategicDocuments/View.aspx?lang=bg-BG&Id=1559
The Public Procurement Law (PPL) has been amended (promulgated in State Gazette № 88 of 20.10.2023 г., entered into force on 01.01.2024) with the mandatory inclusion in the documentation of minimum environmental requirements for all public contracting authorities under the PPL when they award public procurement contracts.
First National action plan for green public procurement for period from 2015 – 2017 (NAP GPP) adopted by Croatian government in August 2015
National Action plan and related issues
The first National action plan was adopted in March 2007.
The second NAP for GPP was adopted from the Council of Ministers on 31st of January 2012. The Green Public Procurement Strategy & Action Plan was published in 2021
Documents related to GPP:
Resolution of the government of the Czech Republic No. 531, of 24 July 2017 on Rules for the implementation of a responsible approach in the public procurement and purchasing by the state and local governments. This Resolution is still in place.
There is a strategy on electronization/digitalization of procurement
The Forum on Sustainable Procurement: Their aim is to promote environmentally conscious and sustainable procurement by professional buyers of goods and services – both in public and private organisations.
Responsible Procurer: webpage where procurers can find green criteria ready to copy paste into tender documents.
Estonia has a Strategy Estonia 2035 (adopted in 2021) and the Action Plan Estonia 2035 (adopted in 2022, updated May 2023) promoting sustainability, flexible and value-based public procurement (including prioritizing environmentally friendly, socially responsible and innovative services and construction works).
First National Public Procurement Strategy launched in 2020. It aims to increase the level of ecological, social and economic responsibility in public procurement and promote the achievement of ecological, social and economic goals in society.
https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/162418/Kansallinen%20julkisten%20hankintojen%20strategia.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Guidance and criteria: www.motivanhankintapalvelu
Adoption and publication in March 2022 of the National Action Plan on Sustainable Procurement (PNAD 2022-2025)
Ecolabels: http://www.blauer-engel.de/
- Website of the German Environment Agency on GPP: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/topics/economics-consumption/green-public-procurement
- Website of the National Competence Center for Sustainable Public Procurement ("Kompetenzstelle für nachhaltige Beschaffung"): https://www.nachhaltige-beschaffung.info/
- Website of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy on public procurement: https://www.bmwk.de/Navigation/DE/Home/home.html
- Website of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy on energy efficient procurement:
http://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Energie/energieeffizienz.html
The Green Public Procurement National Action Plan has been published (Reference of the official journal: Government Gazette 466/Β/08.02.2021). It will be revised every three years or earlier if needed.
National level: All public procurers have to adopt gradually at least the core criteria presented in the Annex of the GPP NAP both for the mandatory and the non-mandatory categories: the first year the governmental public authorities, the second year the non-governmental public authorities (municipalities and regions) and the third year all the rest public authorities. The GPP targets differ from 20% for some categories to 80% for some other, most of the categories have the target 50%
National Action plan (2022-2027)
It sets the goal that by 2027 the number of domestic public procurements containing green aspects will reach at least 30% of the total number of public procurements. But the strategy also foresees that in some sector-specific regulations, in relation to some products and product groups, a different – higher, even 100% – target may apply.
https://kozbeszerzes.hu/kozbeszerzesek-az/
Hungarian National Ecolabel: https://www.okocimke.hu/
-National Public Procurement Policy Framework
-Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024 - 2027
-GPP Criteria Search: https://gppcriteria.gov.ie/
Related issues:
-Climate Action Plan 2023 – This plan includes a mandate to use GPP in all procurement using public funds.
-Circular to assist SMEs in Public Procurement
Action Plan for the environmental sustainability of consumption in the public administration sector: https://gpp.mite.gov.it/Home/PianoAzioneNazionaleGPP
Criteria: https://gpp.mite.gov.it/CAM-vigenti
National level: Under art. 34 of the Legislative Decree 50/2016 on public procurement and concessions, as amended by art. 23 of the Legislative Decree 56/2017, the application of the Minimum Environmental Criteria set within the GPP NAP is mandatory for all kind of contracting authorities, for the whole value of the tender, and also for procurement below the threshold amounts fixed by the Directives on public procurement and concessions.
Considering that in 2017 the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No 353 were approved, further implementation of green public procurement (GPP) shall be in accordance with these Cabinet of Ministers Regulation.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MEPRD) of Latvia has developed a Circular Economy Strategy for Latvia, what is currently being agreed between ministries. In this plan is mentioned several activities what affects GPP development.
MEPRD has produced a Climate Neutrality Report where one of the tasks is to develop GPP criteria for the production of electricity.
On the yearly bases MEPRD submits to the Cabinet of Ministers the report on the implementation of the green public procurement (http://www.varam.gov.lv/lat/darbibas_veidi/zalais_publiskais_iepirkums/?doc=24438
The Implementation Measures of GPP for the period 2016−2020 were approved by the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania by Order No D1-840 in November 2015.
GPP measures for the period 2021-2025 will be set until June 2021. Related link: https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/17da9120942c11e5a6f4e928c954d72b/asr
From 2021, the Government of Lithuania set mandatory GPP goals (https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.7BD90628EAE1/asr)
Documents related to GPP:
https://environnement.public.lu/fr.html
Oekologischer Leitfaden:(http://www.crtib.lu/Leitfaden/index.isp?section=FR) - website with guidelines called "Oekologischer Leitfaden" for sustainable construction works and use of construction products.
GPP NAP: Applicable as of 1st January 2022 till 2027 (published October 2021)
The objectives of the Second GPP National Action Plan are: 1. to take stock of the experiences of the first NAP by reinforcing what has already been achieved, to address weaknesses and, 2. to give a political impetus to further implement sustainable procurement practices.
The goals to be achieved by 2027 include the following:
-To continuously engage economic operators, contracting authorities and other relevant stakeholders by providing necessary training through information sessions, workshops and established communication channels.
- To facilitate GPP implementation by managing the GPP Helpdesk Facility and an interactive National GPP webresponsive application.
- To increase uptake of GPP product and service groups, having set the 1st NAP as a baseline with the aim of achieving the 90% target in the vision.
The Dutch National Action plan on Sustainable Public Procurement 2021-2025 maintains the instruments and support mechanism developed under the previous action plan and adds new activities along four focus areas: 1) Activating internal customers to create a greater uptake of SPP, 2) creating more commitment to action by setting up a new SPP Manifest, 3) maximizing impact in the most important sectors by creating buyer groups and making specific agreements, and 4) taking an Integrated approach to sustainable and fair procurement where possible.
Their new SPP Manifesto (2022-2025) was signed by all Dutch ministries, a third of the Dutch provinces, 50 municipalities, all Dutch regional water authorities, among others. It includes: Social Return, Diversity & Inclusion, International Supply Chain Responsibility, Environment and Biodiversity, Circular Economy and Climate.
The State Purchasing Policy was adopted for 2022-2025. It defines priority actions of the Republic of Poland in the field of public procurement, as well as the desired direction of activities for contracting bodies in the field of award of contracts, which includes, in particular, the purchase of innovative or sustainable products and services.
The previous national strategy for GPP (ENCPE 2020) was approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 38/2016 of 29 July. The legal determination to define the forms of implementation and coordination to the achievement of the objectives of ENCPE 2020 was published by Despacho n. 2568/2017 of 28 March 2017.
The national strategy for green public procurement 2030, known as ECO360, was under public consultation until 23 January, it promotes the strengthening of the inclusion of ecological criteria in public procurement procedures by entities under direct and indirect administration of the State, and the business sector of the State.
https://encpe.apambiente.pt/content/compromissos-nacionais
The new strategy aims to be applied to the State, entities under its direct and indirect administration and indirect administration and to the business sector of the State, also on a voluntary basis, to other collective persons of public law.
The last NAP was expired in 2013. The National Agency for Public Procurement is currently developing the next NAP.
Romania Ministry of Environment and Climate Change website: http://www.mmediu.ro
National Action Plan for GPP for 2016-2020 (NAP GPP III) was adopted by the government in December 2016 and it is available in Slovak language here: https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Material/21622/1
Resolution No. 541 of 31 August 2022
NAP GPP III: 50 % of GPP at central government level in priority product groups.
Environmental strategy 2030: 70 % of GPP of the total value of public procurement until 2030
The Green Public Procurement National Action Plan, including the Policy Statement, was adopted on 21 May 2009. The GPP Regulation last update was done in 2022.
GPP is one of the priorities in the Framework Programme for the Transition to Green Economy: https://www.gov.si/
The first Green Public Procurement Plan of the State General Administration and its Public Entities and the Managing Bodies of the Social Security was approved the 21st January 2008 and published in the B.O.E the 31st January 2008.
The new Green Public Procurement Plan for the public sector (2023-2026), in coordination with the Autonomous Communities and Local Bodies, was approved the 22nd of December 2022. It promotes the use of public procurement to support environmental, social and innovation policies: https://contrataciondelestado.es/b2b/noticias/ENCP.pdf
Strategic use of public procurement: a report based on this was published in 2023, where its shown the state-of-play on Strategic Public Procurement: https://www.hacienda.gob.es/RSC/OIReScon/informes-especiales-supervision/ies-contratacion-estrategica2022.pdf
Plan de Contratación Pública Ecológica (2018 - 2025)
Some of the Spanish autonomous communities (regions) that are front-runners in green public procurement have developed their own Action Plans:
- Catalonia: Green Public Procurement Action Plan (2022 - 2025): https://agricultura.gencat.cat/web/.content/01-departament/contractacio/compra-publica-verda/pla-accio/action-plan.pdf
- Basque Country: Green Procurement Programme 2030: https://www.ihobe.eus/publicaciones/programa-compra-y-contratacion-verde-euskadi-2030-2
The National Public Procurement Strategy (2017)
The procurement strategy is aimed, above all, at representatives of the central government authorities. The Government also intends to work to ensure that representatives of municipalities and county councils as well as other contracting authorities and entities, adopt governing documents to put the policy objectives and the Government’s aims for public procurement into practice within their activities.