Understanding Public Procurement: A Foundation for Progress
Public procurement (PP) is a cornerstone of public administration. Every year, governments worldwide spend trillions of euros to procure goods, services, and infrastructure. In the European Union, public procurement accounts for approximately 14% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with variations in all countries from 4% in Portugal to around 18% in Finland1. Historically, the focus of procurement has been on efficiency and cost-effectiveness, ensuring taxpayers money is used judiciously. However, as societal and environmental challenges grow, procurement is evolving into a strategic tool to achieve broader goals, such as sustainability, innovation, and social responsibility.
What is Green Public Procurement?
Green Public Procurement (GPP) is a procurement strategy that integrates environmental considerations into public spending. Its goal is simple yet transformative: reduce the environmental impact of products, services, and infrastructure throughout their life cycles. This includes minimizing carbon footprints, enhancing resource efficiency, and promoting the circular economy. With GPP, public spending aligns with environmentally responsible practices, significantly reducing the ecological footprint of the public sector. Additionally, GPP demonstrates that sustainability and cost-efficiency are not mutually exclusive; even a 1% improvement in procurement efficiency could save the EU approximately 20 billion euros annually 2. GPP is not about spending more; it is about spending smarter, investing in solutions that deliver both immediate utility and long-term sustainability. The broader concept of Innovative and Green Public Procurement (IGPP) takes this further by also fostering innovation, enabling public authorities to support cutting-edge solutions that might not yet be widely available but hold the potential for significant environmental and social benefits.
The Policy Landscape Around GPP
While GPP is a voluntary instruments and Members States can determine the extent to which policies or criteria are applied, the European Union has taken a proactive stance on GPP as a key pillar of its strategic objectives, particularly under initiatives like the European Green Deal. In 2014, the EU modernized its public procurement directives (23/2014 3, 24/2014 4, and 25/2014 5), embedding principles such as environmental sustainability and innovation alongside cost-effectiveness.
Further developments, such as the Circular Economy Action Plan of 2020 6, introduced minimum mandatory GPP criteria for specific sectors, including transport. These criteria encourage authorities to integrate life cycle assessment, carbon footprint analysis, and resource efficiency into their procurement decisions. GPP is also framed as a critical enabler of the EU’s climate neutrality goal by 2050, aligning procurement practices with broader environmental policies.
The Role of GPP in Transport Infrastructure
Transport infrastructure, including roads, tunnels and bridges, is one of the most significant domains for Green Public Procurement due to its extensive resource demands and considerable environmental impact. These effects are felt across all stages of infrastructure development: construction, maintenance, and operation. For instance, the materials used in building roads and bridges, such as concrete and asphalt, often embody substantial amounts of carbon, stemming from extraction, processing, and transportation. Additionally, poor design choices can lead to inefficient traffic flow, increasing fuel consumption and exacerbating emissions during a road’s operational life. GPP enables public authorities to tackle these challenges head-on. By prioritizing materials with high recycled content, such as Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP: recycled material from old asphalt surfaces, processed and reused in new road construction to reduce waste and resource consumption), governments can reduce dependency on newly extracted materials and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Low-temperature asphalt further cuts emissions by requiring less energy during production and application. Smart traffic management systems, which optimize traffic flow and reduce congestion, also play a crucial role in minimizing fuel wastage and air pollution. Beyond construction and operation, GPP emphasizes life cycle costing, which evaluates not just upfront expenses but also the long-term costs and impacts of infrastructure. Over time, projects including GPPs often prove to be more cost-effective, as energy-efficient solutions and durable materials result in lower maintenance expenses. This holistic approach ensures that investments are both financially prudent and environmentally responsible, making GPP a vital tool for sustainable transport systems.
CIRCUIT Project: A Model for GPP in Action
The CIRCUIT project, which is just a few months into its implementation, is paving the way for integrating Green Public Procurement (GPP) into transport infrastructure development. With a focus on circularity and resilience, CIRCUIT pilots in countries like Croatia, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Italy are already demonstrating the practical applications of GPP. These include the use of recycled materials in road construction, the adoption of low-emission technologies, and the integration of digital tools for asset management. CIRCUIT’s approach spans the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, from design through to decommissioning. For example, in Slovenia, the project is testing bridge construction with recycled concrete elements, proving that innovative techniques can meet both high environmental and technical standards. In Spain, adaptive lighting systems and low-temperature asphalt are being tested, showcasing their potential to reduce energy use and emissions during road construction and operation. Similarly, in Italy, tunnel projects are exploring sustainability through green materials and efficient construction methods. In Croatia, the focus is on integrating digital tools for lifecycle management of infrastructure, and in the Netherlands, soil stabilization techniques using industrial by-products are being tested for their environmental benefits. Beyond technological innovation, CIRCUIT emphasizes the importance of collaboration. By bringing together public and private stakeholders, the project is addressing the main barriers to GPP. Last month, collaborators within the CIRCUIT project submitted Deliverable D4.1, titled “Manual for a Successful Deployment of GPP in CIRCUIT Pilots,” a practical guide based on the project’s early findings to support the effective implementation of GPP in transport infrastructure.
Conclusion: Transforming Public Procurement
Green Public Procurement is more than a policy tool; it is a catalyst for change. In addressing the environmental challenges of our time, GPP enables public authorities to lead by example, leveraging their purchasing power to drive sustainability and innovation. Projects like CIRCUIT illuminate the path forward, proving that GPP can deliver measurable benefits for the environment, economy, and society. As stakeholders across sectors consider their roles in the procurement ecosystem, the message is clear: GPP is not just an opportunity, it is a responsibility we must collectively embrace to ensure a sustainable future.
References
1 European Commission (2022), Public Procurement, https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement_en (14 February 2022).
2 https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement_en
3 DIRECTIVE 2014/23/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/23/oj
4 DIRECTIVE 2014/24/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32014L0024
5 DIRECTIVE 2014/25/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/25/oj
6 COM/2020/98 final, COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A new Circular Economy Action Plan For a cleaner and more competitive Europe:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A98%3AFIN
