The European Commission has published a report, which collects 71 good practice cases on how public buyers have implemented socially responsible public procurement (SRPP), in order to promote employment opportunities, decent work, social inclusion, accessibility, ethical trade, design for all and seeking to achieve wider compliance with social standards. These cases include exceptional work done by ICLEI Members Ghent (Belgium); Copenhagen (Denmark); Helsinki, Tampere and Vantaa (Finland); Lille and Strasbourg (France); Bonn and Bremen (Germany); Haarlem and Rotterdam (the Netherlands); Oslo (Norway); Wrocław and Warsaw (Poland); and Helsingborg (Sweden). 

Written by ICLEI Europe and AEIDL – with the support of Public Procurement Analysis, Dialog Makarna and Social Economy Europe – the report ‘Making Socially Responsible Public Procurement Work: 71 good practice cases’ aims to inspire public buyers around Europe to buy social.

SRPP asks procurers to look beyond the price of the products or services they want to acquire, and also consider how a product/service is produced and sourced. The report compiles cases from 27 countries (including 22 EU Member States).

“We hope all these great examples trigger the interest of many public buyers to become frontrunners and mainstream the use of social considerations in their public procurements. This is a strong signal to show citizens that purchases are supporting social progress,” highlighted Philipp Tepper, ICLEI Europe, who coordinated the report.

The cases presented address a diverse selection of products and services, encompass all phases of the public procurement process, and include a broad range of public buyers, ranging from local and national governments, to public hospitals. All cases provide named contacts if readers are curious to learn more directly from the practitioners.

Read the full report here and follow the campaign on Twitter by searching for #WeBuySocialEU.