EcoProcura 2012 kicked off in ICLEI Member city Malmö (Sweden) yesterday with an afternoon of thought-provoking presentations and discussions. Ilmar Reepalu, Chairman of the Executive Board and Mayor of Malmö welcomed participants to the conference. Deputy Mayor of Helsinki and Chair of the Procura+ campaign Pekka Sauri stressed in his welcome address the challenges posed for sustainable public procurement (SPP) by current and future legislation, expressing hope that EcoProcura and the Procura+ campaign will alleviate these challenges and drive SPP in Europe.

ICLEI Europe’s Mark Hidson emphasised the genuine shift towards SPP and procurement and innovation, highlighting the role played by local authorities and ICLEI in achieving this. UNEP representative Fanny Demassieux focused on Rio+20. Despite its perceived failings, she said, one major positive was the inclusion of SPP within the 10 year programme on sustainable consumption and production as a priority programme. Ms. Demassieux also spoke of the need for greater collaboration between cities and national governments to enhance SPP goals.

The private sector expressed positivity towards adopting SPP practices, particularly life-cycle costing as it represents best value for money (as opposed to lowest possible price). Gerhard Huebner, Director of Economic and Fiscal Policy of the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises also criticized the political level for not facilitating their SPP objectives through adequate incentives. He also voiced concerns that specifications are being misused to award contracts to predefined companies. ICLEI will feed the outcomes of the conference into political arenas such as expert groups at the European Commission.

For more information, click here.