European Commission, TAIEXDG Environment

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European Commission, TAIEX/DG Environment
Buying Green Training Seminar

• Networking for responsible public procurement
• the experience of EUROCITIES
• Dag Nordby, City of OsloChair EUROCITIES
  Working Group on Responsible Consumption

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What is EUROCITIES?

• Established in 1986, EUROCITIES is a network of
  121 major cities in 32 European countries
• Membership of EUROCITIES is open to the elected
  governments of large European cities (gt250.000
  inhabitants)
• EUROCITIES activities
• Networking Sharing and improving knowledge
• Lobbying Developing and influencing policies
• Campaigning Raising public awareness

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Responsible procurement in EUROCITIES members

• Buying organic milk for school canteens or clean
  vehicles for the municipal fleet
• Developing a catalogue of environmental criteria
  for standard purchases of office equipment,
  stationery, cleaning products, lighting devices
• Using fair trade coffee, sweets and other
  products at receptions, traditional festivals,
  official presents from the city
• Matching unemployed people with the work to be
  done for public construction works or cleaning
  services for the local authority
• Combating black labour and child labour in
  suppliers companies
• Making sure public contracts are delivered under
  non-discriminatory conditions

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Networking for Responsible Procurement in
EUROCITIES

• Economic Development Forum
• Working Group Responsible Consumption
• CARPE Project
• Environment Forum
• Working Group Greening the Local Economy
• Social Affairs Forum
• BUILD-FOR-ALL project

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Example The CARPE Project Cities As
Responsible Purchasers in Europe

• CARPE Guide to Responsible Procurement -
  Reasons, procurement practices, legal framework-
  Detailed implementation avenues for 6
  strategies- Organising responsible
  procurement- en-fr-es-de-sv
• CARPE Case Studies- 20 practice examples-
  Standardised presentation
• CARPE-Net web site http//www.carpe-net.org

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Why responsible procurement?

• Use the market power of public spending to make
  an impact
• Support social responsibility and environmental
  innovation in the private sector
• Make best value purchasing decisions
• Be a model consumer for your citizens

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Why cities?

• Cities are active participants in the market and
  manage a large share of public purchasing (more
  than 50 of procurement expenditure spent at
  subcentral levels of goverment!)
• Cities are more flexible
• Cities are willing to pioneer
• Cities are the level of government closest to the
  individual citizens
• ? Concerted demand for responsible products
  and services can have a significant impact on the
  market and send strong signals to the public

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Multiple layers of networking

• Networking with other cities- Exchange between
  peers (following slides)
• Networking locally on implementation of
  responsible purchasing policies- Cooperation
  required across municipal departments-
  Responsible procurement as vehicle for
  initiating/improving cooperation
• Networking with technical experts on responsible
  standards and correct procedures- Researchers-
  NGOs- Legal experts
• Networking with suppliers- Ensuring availability

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The importance of networking I

• Networking is a crucial success factor for
  current achievements.
• As pioneers of responsible procurement, cities
  rely/ied extensively on mutual support
• Exchange of technical expertise on procedures and
  criteria.
• Learning from each others experiences
• Learning from doing things differently
• Joint testing of solutions in pilot projects
• Identification of common success factors
  (prioritisation, clear objectives, transparent
  procedures)

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The importance of networking II

• Networking increases the impact of responsible
  procurement.
• Concentrating efforts from cities across Europe
  in common initiatives can boost responsible
  consumption.
• Continued exchange between experts can help to
  identify further opportunities for responsible
  procurement.
• Speaking with a common voice increases ability
  to effectively lobby policy-makers

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The importance of networking III

• Networking helps to meet the challenges of
  responsible procurement.
• Raising a citys profile on responsible
  procurement on a European level can help build
  political support at home (defend higher initial
  costs and long-term/non-financial benefits)
• Joint market research and exchange with
  suppliers helps to ensure the market can supply
  according to innovative standards
• Cooperation provides resources expertise to
  develop further tools for monitoring/evaluating
  costs benefits (e.g. in projects co-funded by
  the European Commission)

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• Thank you for your attention!
• Contacts
• Working Group Responsible Consumption
• Dag Nordby
• dag.nordby_at_radhuset.oslo.kommune.no
• EUROCITIES Secretariat
• Silke Moschitz
• s.moschitz_at_eurocities.be