Procurement category: Furniture

Social/environmental impacts targeted: circular, energy-neutral and low-maintenance, employment of disadvantaged groups, promotion of the social economy

Relevant EU legislation/policy/guidance: EU GPP criteria on Furniture (2017), A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe (2020)

Background 

Collectivité européenne d'Alsace (CeA) is a French territorial collectivity which counts about 2 million inhabitants and 900 municipalities. Located in the North-East of France, it shares its borders with Switzerland and Germany.

In the framework of the Renovation Plan of the Alsatian public schools, CeA designed and implemented its first furniture repair contract. Tested in the new school Katia et Maurice Krafft d’Eckbolsheim, the contract has the potential to be replicated in the other schools involved in the Renovation Plan.

To carry out this pilot project, the contracting authority benefited from the experience of Relais2D, a Cooperative Society of Collective Interest (‘société coopérative d'intérêt collectif’ in French) which helps contracting authorities reach their sustainability goals, as well as the  collaboration with experienced public buyers, the internal staff, and the private sector. 

Procurement objectives

The furniture repair service contract of the school d’Eckebolsheim reached both environmental and social objectives. On one hand, it promoted circular economy principles, on the other hand, it involved social economy actors who employ disadvantaged workers.

These objectives were aligned with the school’s strategy, as well as with the sustainable public procurement goals of the CeA , the National plan for sustainable procurement and the Anti-waste and Circular Economy Act, which encourages circular procurement. 

Before starting the tendering process, CeA carried out an extensive consultation with external stakeholders, particularly the private sector. Through visits to the workshops and meetings, the contracting authority reached out to potential suppliers, engaged them with its procurement plans, and better understood their capacity and skills. 

Tender requirements

The tender required a significant and crucial preliminary work, which lasted about 6 months and aimed to identify the social economy actors who were able to reply to the needs of the contracting authority. During this period, the staff of CeA’s schools were also mobilised to make an inventory of the available furniture that could be reused or refurbished. Thanks to the sourcing and the engagement of the staff, tender requirements were tailored to the capacity of the potential service suppliers and the school needs.

To facilitate the participation of social economy enterprises, the tender was also divided into two lots:

• N°01 - Northern sector, college in the Bas-Rhin region

• N°02 - South sector, secondary school in the Haut Rhin region 

The above-mentioned two lots were reserved for work integration structures (‘structures d’insertion par l’activité économique’ in French) or equivalent structures, pursuant to Article L. 2113-13 of the French Public Procurement Code in accordance with Article L. 5132-4 of the French Labour Code. Tenderers were required to demonstrate that they were members of these structures. At least 50 % of the employees of those work integration structures must be disadvantaged workers.

Tenders were evaluated based on the most economically advantageous tender: a 40% weighting was given to the quality criterion and a 60% to the price criterion. 

Technical merit was assessed based on a methodological note specifying:

• the procedure for removing the furniture in each school: 5 points,
• the detailed timing for the intervention: 5 points, 
• the renovation processes and the products used that comply with environmental requirements: 20 points,
• the measures to promote the integration into the workforce of disadvantaged workers: 10 points. 

All the furniture had to meet the French NF Environment label requirements.

Awarding the contract

The contract was awarded to the consortium Emi § Creno and Les Jardins de la Montagne Verte.  

Results

The contracting authority received one bid from the consortium composed of two social enterprises:  “Emi § Creno” and “Les Jardins de la Montagne Verte”.  The awarded companies met all the specified criteria of the tendering process.

“Emi § Creno” and “Les Jardins de la Montagne Verte” were admitted to a framework agreement with a duration of 36 months and with the potential to reach out to about 100 schools of the territorial collectivity. 

The furniture repair contract allowed CeA, together with the school and the other involved stakeholders, to rethink their need to buy and to check whether they could re-use and/or recycle the products they already owned. The process required cultural, organisational, and systemic changes among the internal and external stakeholders involved in the process, thus stimulating new and more sustainable approaches and solutions. The sourcing also allowed to bring together suppliers and boost collaborations among them (a consortium won the tender). 

Environmental and social impacts

This good practice shows how public procurement can be strategically used to promote the transition towards a circular economy. By moving away from the standard way of procuring furniture and being open to experimenting with a new approach, CeA is not only meeting its needs but also supporting its sustainability goals. It is also encouraging businesses to develop innovative solutions to reduce waste and adopt more sustainable business models. 

From an environmental point of view, this case study represents the first furniture repair contract of the CeA. The most obvious environmental benefit of the contract is waste prevention. Thanks to the joint work of the contracting authorities and the suppliers, the contract also allowed to find ways to prolong a product’s life (e.g. new tabletops will be made of wood instead of plastic to extend the product’s lifetime and to ease their reparation). The experience also allowed the contracting authority to rethink what kind of new furniture to order for the next tenders to make their purchases more sustainable (e.g. products made of solid wood rather than of plywood that cannot be renovated).

From a social point of view, the engagement of work integration structures allowed the employment of disadvantaged workers (in particular, women in precarious conditions in the job market). The initiative also allowed the update and upgrade of skills and competences of social enterprises that participated in the procurement process (e.g. in joinery), by encouraging suppliers to develop solutions to reduce waste and increase their products’ lifetime. 

Finally, public authorities nearby that purchase furniture may be inspired by this project.

Lessons learned 

Thanks to the early engagement of the suppliers in the public buyer’s sustainability objectives and the close collaboration in all the stages of the procurement process, the monitoring of the contract takes place without the need of formal meetings and procedures. It consists of regular exchanges through phone calls, emails and meetings. Of course, the contract is also monitored from a financial and administrative point of view by the contracting authority.

Advice to other contracting authorities:

• Circular procurement entails a strong political will. Indeed, at the beginning, it requires more human and financial resources, as well as extra time. Without the political engagement at different decision-making levels, it would be hard for contracting authorities to allocate the right amount of investment to the initiative.
• It is important to foresee at least 6 months to prepare the call to plan enough time for the consultation and the engagement of the private sector and the internal staff, as well as for the design of the tender strategy and technical specification, requiring expertise in multiple disciplines (procurement, technical, legal, etc.).
• Framework agreements are effective tools to help procurers get circular. They allow procurers to make longer-term arrangements with one or more suppliers.
• The division into lots and the use of reserved contracts are powerful ways to engage social economy actors with procurement.

More information

Contact person: Lynda Elhabiri, Direction des Achats et de la Commande Publique – Service Achats, Collectivité européenne d’Alsace

Contact information and website

Relevant EU legislation/policy/guidance: EU GPP criteria on Furniture (2017), A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe (2020).