Assessing green public procurement – report from the OECD

The 2023 edition of ‘Government at a Glance’ features a summary of the implementation of GPP in OECD countries. Data was collected through a 2022 Survey on Green Public Procurement which covered four pillars: policy and strategic framework, public-private interactions, evaluation of impact, and capacity building and support. 

Of the 34 responding countries, 14 (41%) have set mandatory requirements to use GPP, such as Italy which has defined Minimum Environmental Criteria for 18 product categories, a further 10 (29%) have set GPP targets and an additional seven have adopted both mandatory requirements and targets. However, three countries have neither mandatory requirements nor GPP-related targets and seven do not require public agencies to report on GPP spending or the number of GPP-inclusive contracts. 

The report highlights the importance of streamlined monitoring mechanisms to ease the reporting process. 14 of the 34 countries currently use a digital platform linked to an e-procurement system while others have specific reporting mechanisms, such as the Netherlands’ self-evaluation tool. The majority of countries regularly publish information on the value of GPP expenditures which can reinforce trust in public institutions through the transparent demonstration of how taxpayer funds are spent.

Find out more about the report