There is great potential for local governments to use public procurement to strengthen their work on climate change and sustainability. Green and socially responsible public procurement are key tools laid out in the German governments’ Sustainability Agenda to achieve its climate targets.
How can local governments incorporate climate targets and resource efficiency in their procurement practices? Which criteria need to be considered?
At 12th annual “Kommunale Kilmakonferenz” (Local Governments for Climate Conference) in ICLEI Member Berlin (Germany), local governments and climate leaders got together to discuss these topics.
In his keynote address, Wolfgang Teubner, ICLEI Europe Regional Director, encouraged local governments to pick up public procurement as a key area of focus in combatting climate change. He highlighted that 13% of GDP in Germany results from public procurement, and provided a range of examples from German and European cities that make use of this spending power to minimise carbon emissions and improve resource efficiency.
Cities such as ICLEI Member Hamburg (Germany) are constantly pushing for greener procurement criteria and leading the way in the implementation of sustainable procurement. Examples from sectors such as transport, mobility, and catering show that public procurement can incorporate climate change related goals and help to achieve them.
“It is good for cities to dare to move off the beaten path and try out new and different approaches,” concluded Mr Teubner.
At the conference, ICLEI Member Ludwigsburg (Germany) was honoured with an award for outstanding climate-friendly procurement for their work in using procurement strategically to achieve better public health, lower carbon emissions, and improve resource efficiency, all by introducing circular procurement approaches. The city has made strict sustainability criteria mandatory across all procuring departments.
For more information on the potential of sustainable public procurement, visit the Sustainable Procurement Platform here.