Due to the growing demand for sustainability in the field of public procurement, from ECOTERRAE We want to address the main concepts, measures and applicable regulations in order to integrate the most important criteria in this type of green contracting.
What is sustainable purchasing?
They are defined as those that have the greatest possible positive environmental, social and economic impact throughout the entire life cycle, seeking to minimize adverse negative impacts.
The sustainable shopping They are indispensable tools to promote and achieve balanced and equitable development by considering environmental, social and economic concerns in procurement decisions, affecting the entire supply chain.
Three pillars on which sustainability and, therefore, sustainable purchases are built: Economic sustainability, Environmental sustainability and Social sustainability.
What are the main criteria in public procurement?
Depending on the degree of commitment of public purchases, these may consider classic operational criteria, responsible criteria or sustainable criteria:
- Purchases with classic operational criteria: Prioritizes price, deadline and specification. There is no link between the purchase decision and the generation of shared value, it only focuses on the economic impact, seeking the lowest possible cost.
- Purchases with responsible criteria: With respect to the previous one, this type of hiring prioritizes regulatory compliance in matters of health, safety, hygiene, and the environment, emphasizing the ethical values of the organization. Economic and social impact above the environmental one. Is considered responsible public procurement.
- Sustainable purchases: the intention to carry out is revealed green hiring that integrate ESG sustainability criteria in the selection of suppliers and taking into account the risk in the supply chain. It implies sustainable procurement that minimizes environmental impacts, with social equity and goes beyond regulatory compliance. It integrates the strategic public procurement that is integrated into the organization's purchasing decisions, generating shared value.
What is the current moment of Public Procurement in Spain?
As an introduction, it would be noteworthy to point out that, in the European Union, approximately 2 trillion euros (14% of EU GDP) are spent each year on public procurement alone... and in Spain, state public procurement is approximately 20% of GDP Spanish.
Therefore, the sustainable public procurement It constitutes an essential lever of change to produce a real transformation in the way we buy and contract.
What are the advantages and benefits of integrating sustainable public procurement?
- It allows you to have a broader vision of the real benefits beyond the cost of the product.
- They achieve greater efficiency and optimization of public spending and resources.
- They contribute to the adaptation of the social and business fabric in the face of emergencies and climate challenges.
- Changes in consumption and production patterns.
- Potential as a tool to generate a market for ecological goods and services.
- Alignment with several of the Sustainable Development Goals.
What is the role that Public Administrations play in this type of sustainable contracting or green purchasing?
Especially in recent years, awareness of sustainable development on their part has been growing with the aim of transforming production and commercial systems, as well as conventional consumption patterns, towards models that are more respectful of the environment and people. .
The State generated a Manual for Ecological Public Procurement where it states that public procurement is no longer a mere option, but must be part of the DNA of a Public Administration committed to minimizing economic and environmental impacts.
In pursuit of this, a wide variety of sustainability plans, guides and manuals related in one way or another to Sustainable Public Procurement have been developed.
Is there a regulatory framework or reference regulations that covers these sustainable acquisitions?
At the European level, For the public sector contracting process there are the following directives:
- Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of concession contracts
- Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement
- Directive 2014/25/EU on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors
According to national legislation, Law 9/2017 on Public Sector Contracts was prepared.
In addition, we must take into account the varied legislation on environmental matters:
How to incorporate sustainability in the preparation of public contracts?
Through a link to the object of the contract taking into account the following criteria:
- Solvency and technical specifications: necessary requirement to participate in a tender or public contest demonstrating technical capacity and solvency, becoming an admission requirement with an eliminatory nature. Technical solvency guarantees the aptitude, knowledge and experience of the economic operators: previous experience in supplies, of the personnel assigned to the contract or the solvency of material or personal resources in the contract.
- Award criteria: parameters used to choose the most appropriate offers that comply with technical requirements. These constitute decisive aspects at the service of this objective. Whenever the possibility exists, environmental and social criteria will be taken into account, in addition to the economic one.
- Special execution conditions: here the way in which the contractor must act is determined, being key to achieving environmental and social objectives. Positive impacts on the environment will be rewarded. It is vitally important to configure them so that their correct execution can be verified. Consideration of essential contractual obligations, consideration of infringements due to non-compliance.
What can we do from ECOTERRAE?
We provide advice and implementation of an action plan that contemplates all the requirements mentioned above with the aim of integrating them into the purchasing policy of your entity, being able to prepare training sessions (in person or online) for all associated workers of the company to Raise awareness about the application of sustainable criteria when carrying out public procurement. Therefore, we can help you in:
- Advice on including sustainability criteria in contracting documents.
- Training of suppliers on sustainability criteria to include in tenders
- Calculation of carbon footprint, water footprint and other indicators requested in tenders
- Life cycle cost calculation
- Advice on different types of eco-labelling.
We hope you found this article interesting. We want to help you!
