City of Lisbon: Implementation of ISO 20400

In 2024, the Municipality of Lisbon received the Procura+ Award for ‘Procurement Initiative of the Year’ in recognition of their Sustainable Procurement Management System which is in accordance with the ISO 20400 standard. Maria João Pinto has been working with sustainable procurement since the implementation of this Management System and has recently taken the role of Coordinator of the Mission Team for Sustainable Procurement for the 2024-25 cycle.

The Municipality of Lisbon is one of the 10 biggest public procurers in Portugal. Aware of the responsibility that it bears, the city is committed to using public procurement to inspire and influence the market, organisations, regulators, civil society and even the Government. In sum, procurement is a powerful support instrument to sustainable development. The guiding script for this challenge has been the ISO 20400 Standard for Sustainable Procurement.

What is the Municipality of Lisbon's Sustainable Procurement Management System and what are its objectives?

The Municipality of Lisbon's Sustainable Procurement Management System was developed in alignment with the recommendations of the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement standard. In 2022/2023, the efforts made by this municipality and its executive leaders were validated and acknowledged by a third accredited party, further affirming the robustness and effectiveness of our approach.

The core objective of our System was to establish a systematic framework ensuring that all public procurement processes within the Municipality of Lisbon are developed within responsible, transparent, fair, and ecological principles.

How was the Sustainable Purchasing System developed and what criteria was considered in its formation?

Our approach was designed to provide clear guidance and strategies to facilitate easy application of sustainability criteria in all procurement processes.

By anchoring our practices in ISO 20400, we aimed to elevate the sustainability quotient of our procurement processes. This involved implementing stringent measures at all levels of the municipality to prioritise environmental and social responsibility, transparency, and equitable access for all stakeholders. We aspired to not only meet legal and ethical requirements but to exceed them, setting a higher standard for sustainable procurement in the public sector.

Our system fosters a culture of responsibility and accountability, enabling seamless integration of sustainable practices throughout the procurement lifecycle. Ultimately, our municipality sought to contribute to a greener and more equitable society, aligning our initiatives with the broader vision of sustainable development and responsible governance.

Since its recognition and implementation in 2022, what have been the impacts, both beneficial and challenging, of the system so far?

By anchoring our procurement in ISO 20400, we made the task of harmonising practices much easier. But to ensure that the practices are adopted, it was crucial to include a transversal performance objective, in which each department is evaluated regarding the inclusion of sustainability in its purchases, its planned management monitoring, and the contributions they have proposed to a shared database with sustainability criteria to be used by all departments. 

Additionally, we monitor the objectives that each department must reach, with the results available on a Microsoft PowerBi (BI) report, available for consultation to all the workers in the municipality. This has contributed to the transparency of the entire process, in addition to ensuring continuous feedback for everyone involved and showing that every department is equally dedicated to making our purchasing choices more sustainable. 

In fact, making everything related to the implementation of this procurement system available on an internal website dedicated to purchasing has been the key to success. All tools are available for every department at any time, and we keep in close contact with everyone involved in this process to facilitate this transition.  We serve as promoters to a more sustainable procurement process, but this transition requires a burden-sharing approach where all departments must help the best way they can.

The biggest challenge has been overcoming the resistance inherent to all change processes and this one is no exception, but since 2019 progress has been huge. The involvement of all different parties, hierarchies and the city executive, is decisive in this sense and has, with this executive, assumed trust in the face of distrust in this new model of public purchasing.

Looking ahead, and related to its Strategic Plan for Sustainable Procurement 2024-2025, how does Lisbon plan to widen and promote sustainable (purchasing) practices both within and beyond the Municipality?

Internally, we must keep investing in harmonising practices, specifically those that promote transparency in the procurement process, comparability, feedback and continuous improvement. And for the expected result, we must also invest in the professionalisation of everyone who works in this area, especially those who perform the role of contract manager.

The easier the work in this area becomes, notably the inclusion and monitoring of compliance with all specifications included in the procurement process, including sustainability criteria, the faster we can stabilise this procurement model.

We are creating a path, but we need the market to share the same priorities regarding the integration of sustainability into its value chain and this can only be achieved if we change the paradigm of relationships with our suppliers and the market in general. Therefore, Lisbon is investing in the training of companies that are part of the Sustainable Lisbon Platform (Plataforma Lisboa Sustentável) and all those who want to join. Plataforma Lisboa Sustentável Empresas is a commitment platform in which companies and organisations commit, within the scope of their activity, to adopt measures that contribute to achieving sustainability goals in the city. The city provides presentations, trainings and roadshows to its more than 300 member companies to share learnings and increase business literacy and confidence around sustainability topics.

At the same time, we are strengthening the relationship with our suppliers, so that growth is a joint process, with responsibilities assumed on both sides. Instituting the inclusion of the Lisbon Municipality's Supplier Code of Conduct (Código de Conduta do Município de Lisboa) in all Public Procurement processes was our first step. Our next step will be the consolidation of supplier and stakeholder direct support.

Our sustainable procurement system serves as a stepping stone in a perpetual journey. It reaffirms that sustainability isn't a destination but a continuous path, a journey where each step leads to further progress, where collaboration and awareness drive lasting change, and where our sphere of influence continually widens, promoting sustainable practices within and beyond the Municipality of Lisbon.