Sixteen candidates have made it through to the next round of selection for the Procura+ Awards that recognise excellence in sustainable public procurement. The awards are organised by Procura+, a European sustainable procurement network made up of public or semi-public local authorities, including many ICLEI Members.

Shortlisted candidates have been selected from a strong field of over two dozen entries in four categories: Sustainable Procurement of the Year, Innovation Procurement of the Year, Outstanding Procurement in ICT, and Procurement Initiative of the Year. Four nominees have been chosen per category.

A number of ICLEI Members are among the nominees. Ghent (Belgium) and Växjö (Sweden) are both shortlisted for Sustainable Procurement of the Year; Helsinki (Finland) is in the running for Innovation Procurement of the Year and Outstanding Innovation Procurement in ICT; while Oslo (Norway) and Zurich (Switzerland) have made the shortlist for Procurement Initiative of the Year.

The jury is comprised of high-level representatives with vast experience in procurement practice and policy making. Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of ICLEI Member Malmö (Sweden) and Procura+ Network Chair; Janos Bertok, Head of the Public Sector Integrity Division at the OECD; Marzena Rogalska, Acting Director of the European Commission’s DG Grow; and Mark Hidson, Global Director of ICLEI’s Procurement Centre are all jurors.

Winners will be revealed at the Award Ceremony at Nordic Edge in ICLEI Member Stavanger (Norway) on 24 September. Nordic Edge is a conference that promotes solutions for smarter cities and communities. It is an important arena for knowledge exchange, and fosters inspiration among creators of smarter businesses, cities and societies.

The Procura+ Awards is an initiative of ICLEI Europe, with support from the EU-funded Procure2Innovate project.

For more information on the 2019 awards, visit the Procura+ website. Watch highlights from the 2018 Procura+ Awards here.