European projects on innovation through public procurement

2008-2020 // Intelligent Energy Europe and Horizon 2020 Programmes

An intrinsic quality of the Ecoinstitut team has been the promotion of international networking. In the field of sustainable procurement, Ecoinstitut has participated in different European projects to promote the adoption of innovative solutions at different stages of the procurement process.

Smart SPP - Innovation through Sustainable Procurement (2008 - 2011) focused on the search for innovative low-emission solutions based on market dialogue, and the development of a first tool for calculating life-cycle costs and CO₂ emissions, to facilitate the purchase of innovative solutions with a low carbon footprint.

GPP 2020 - Procurement for a low-carbon economy (2013-2016) implemented more than 100 low-carbon tenders to achieve significant CO₂ emission reductions through public procurement. The results and benefits achieved from all tenders were evaluated and published. In addition, training courses on public procurement were held for procurement officers and trainers.

SPP Regions – Regional networks for sustainable procurement (2015-2018) focused on the creation and expansion of regional networks for sustainable and innovative public procurement. The project also produced reports on market dialogue, the use of life-cycle costs in procurement, and circular economy procurement; as well as tools for estimating CO₂ emissions and energy savings from contracts.

All European projects are based on collaboration between strategic partners and public administrations, and all 3 were coordinated by ICLEI.