Public Procurement supporting Circular & Social Aims

Why: Green Public Procurement (GPP) is a core strand of driving sustainability, promoting resource efficiency, and progressing circular economy ambitions. Social procurement delivers broader social, cultural and environmental outcomes. The Irish Government’s annual purchasing accounts for 10 to 12% of GDP, which means procurement can be used as a lever of State funds to deliver potentially significant carbon savings, resource efficiency and social good. See the EPA’s most recent report on % of Green Public Procurement here. 

Policy and Guidance: GPP is high on the agenda of the Climate Action Plan, Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy and the Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy 2022-2023.

The EPA’s GPP guidance was published in 2021 and is available here. 

In 2022, the EPA also launched two training supports for suppliers of goods and services to the public sector in Ireland.

The first is a short video which provides a brief introduction to Green Public Procurement to suppliers. The video can be viewed here The second is a training presentation which follows on from the introductory video and provides more detailed information for suppliers. Its purpose is to provide background information, advice and practical tips on Green Public Procurement. The presentation can be viewed here.

How: Public Procurers can help facilitate more circular and social procurement by getting a clear understanding of the needs of the organisation in the pre-tender phase, starting with a quick win, market engagement and dialogue, considering life cycle costing, taking measures to accommodate small scale suppliers (e.g. lots or consortium responses) and allowing for flexibility in specifications.