The European Commission’s DG Environment published a new brochure titled “Green Public Procurement: A collection of good practices”, illustrating how European local authorities successfully launched green tenders and providing guidance to those wishing to do the same.
Green public procurement is highlighted as an important element in the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) guidebook, which stipulates that the plans should cover areas “where local authorities can encourage markets for energy efficient products and services.”
The SEAP guidelines in addition detail some key benefits related to green procurement:
- By using less energy, public authorities will reduce unnecessary costs, and save money.
- Some energy-efficient goods, such as light bulbs, have a longer lifetime and are of higher quality than their cheaper alternatives. Purchasing them will reduce valuable time and effort involved in frequently replacing equipment.
- Reducing CO2 emissions as a result of energy-efficient procurement will help public authorities to decrease their carbon footprint.
- Through leading by example, public authorities help to convince the general public and private businesses of the importance of energy efficiency.
In the current context of budget cuts and austerity measures, such economic savings are all the more relevant, especially considering that public authorities spend approximately €2 trillion annually, equivalent to approximately 19% of the EU’s gross domestic product.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 