The OECD has launched a new agenda on public procurement reform to support countries in creating an overarching approach to procurement that enables efficiency, fosters growth, and accomplishes their strategic goals. Green Public Procurement (GPP), which is the public purchasing of products and services that are less environmentally damaging when taking into account their whole life cycle, is increasingly being used by countries to achieve such policy objectives in the area of environmental protection. However, countries have reported to the OECD that they face obstacles to successfully implementing GPP, including:
- The perception that green products and services may be more expensive than conventional ones;
- Public officials’ lack of technical knowledge on integrating environmental standards in the procurement process; and
- The absence of monitoring mechanisms to evaluate if GPP achieves its goals.
To assist countries in Implementing GPP, a 2012 report on the implementation of the 2008 Recommendation on Enhancing Integrity in Public Procurement called for the development of a “compendium of good practices on how to integrate environmental considerations in public procurement in a transparent and cost-effective manner.”
Building on this, this report presents case studies across the six dimensions of Green Public Procurement (GPP) implementation:
- Setting a GPP legal and policy framework to assist buying entities in incorporating GPP in their procurement procedures.
- Planning GPP, including understanding market capacity and available technical solutions as well as assessing GPP costs and benefits.
- Introducing environmental standards in the technical specifications, procurement selection, and award criteria as well as in contract performance clauses.
- Professionalising GPP and increasing know-how and skills.
- Raising awareness on GPP solutions and their benefits with buyers, businesses, and the civil society.
- Monitoring the results of GPP and providing a feedback loop into policy and regulation.
The case studies not only provide concrete examples of measuring and monitoring GPP results but also show that monitoring serves to consolidate the benefits of GPP and provide valuable feedback for policy makers.