Buy Smart. Green Procurement for Smart Purchasing. Publishable Report

Transcription

1 Buy Smart Green Procurement for Smart Purchasing Publishable Report

2 The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. Author: Vanessa Hübner, Berliner Energieagentur GmbH December 2011 Project Coordinator Berliner Energieagentur GmbH, Französische Straße 23, Berlin (Germany) Partners B.&S.U.Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbh (Germany) O.Ö. Energiesparverband (Austria) Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie l Energie e l Ambiente, ENEA (Italy) Building and Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK (Slovenia) Ekodoma (Latvia) SEVEn, Stredisko pro efektivni vyuzivani energie, o.p.s., The Energy Efficiency Center (Czech Republic) Energikontor Sydost (Sweden) 2/62

3 Buying smart for a better world Green procurement means including energy efficiency and other environmental criteria in tender procedures for the supply of goods and services both in the public and private sector. The inclusion of these criteria in public procurement is referred to as GPP (green public procurement). To promote the supply of eco-efficient products and services the Buy Smart project, funded by the European program "Intelligent Energy Europe", provided free consultation and information material on green procurement. The annual purchases of public organizations within the European Union represent approximately 19 % of the gross domestic product of the EU, which are over 2 trillion Euros 1. Therefore, public institutions can to a great extent contribute to the implementation of sustainable development principles by using their purchase power to select goods and services which are more environmentally friendly, contemporarily benefitting from the cut of part of their operating costs. That s why the central strategic objective of the project was to increase the share of energy efficient procurement in Europe, thus supporting a higher market impact and therefore a larger production and use of energy efficient goods and services. The main benefits of green procurement include savings of energy, water, and materials as well as savings of the relating operating costs of both public and private institutions. The energy savings also involve a reduction of polluting substances and greenhouse gas emissions. One should also not omit other benefits that are hard to calculate, such as the reduction of the production of chemical substances leading to a reduction of negative impacts on human health. 1 EU: Buying green! Handbook, /62

4 Table of content 1. WH0? The European project Buy Smart Project Data Project Partners Results Performance Indicators WHAT? What is green procurement? Current situation in public procurement in Europe Current situation in public procurement in European countries ON WHICH BASIS? Legal framework International framework National legal framework PROBLEMS? Barriers and opportunities for green procurement Administrative and legislative measures for the public sector Economic and financial instruments Financial subsidies and funding Competitions Dissemination of information and promotion Problems and corrective actions in the Buy Smart project SUCCESSES? Impacts of Buy Smart Germany Italy Austria /62

5 5.4 Latvia Czech Republic Slovenia Sweden HOW? Green procurement in practice Green public procurement step by step Label Building components Green Electricity Household appliances Lighting Office equipement Vehicles TIPS? Useful hints for green procurement And more? Further information Abbrivations 62 5/62

6 1. WH0? The European project Buy Smart The Buy Smart project aimed at promoting, implementing and further developing green procurement (procurement of energy efficient products) in private and public institutions, using the established green procurement guidelines developed in the previous GreenLabelsPurchase project. The project did not provide new tools but addressed the main barriers presently hampering a broad implementation of green procurement. Through the collaboration with professional platforms who already offer electronic procurement, Buy Smart wanted to realise for the first time green e-procurement, thus reaching additional potential customers through a provider they already trust. By involving also professional trade associations, the target group of private purchasers should be better reached. With extensive training offers, capacity-building was to be enhanced. Policy recommendations have finally been developed and channelled into the discussions to strengthen green procurement in the revision of the NEEAPs (national energy efficiency action plans) in Project Data Objective: promote, implement and further develop the procurement of energy efficient products Project duration: May 2009 October 2011 Project website: Target groups: private and public purchasers Output: information about green procurement of office equipment, household appliances, lighting, green electricity, building components, vehicles through guidelines, performance sheets and calculation tools, consultations, in-house consultations, training events, pilot projects, good practice database, information about energy labels and new labelling schemes, evaluation and transposition of the results for the NEEAPs in 2011 Consortium: 8 well-experienced institutions in 7 EU member states 6/62

7 1.2 Project Partners Berliner Energieagentur GmbH (coordinator, Germany) B.&S.U.Beratungs- und Service-Gesellschaft Umwelt mbh (Germany) O.Ö. Energiesparverband (Austria) ENEA (Italy) Building and Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK (Slovenia) Ekodoma (Latvia) SEVEn (Czech Republic) Energikontor Sydost (Sweden) 7/62

8 1.3 Results A website with lots of information about green procurement has been developed. The website is available in English and for Germany, Latvia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Sweden and Czech Republic in national languages. An analysis of the state-of-the-art in green procurement as well as the project evaluation is available for Europe and the partner countries. Information about 33 labels is presented. All procurement tools developed in the former project GreenLabelsPurchase have been updated. Short introduction brochures and guidelines, performance sheets, calculations tools and training modules and for the product groups vehicles, green electricity, office equipment, lighting, building components and household appliances are available on the Buy Smart website for download. 15 Collaborations have been made with e-procurement platforms and strategic partners like associations for municipalities and businesses. National steering committees have been established. 460 consultations, 168 in-house consultations and 70 trainings have been performed. This resulted in 37 finished pilot projects with savings of 105 GWh/year and in addition 2,500 GWh/year for the two unexpectedly large pilot projects preparing purchasing guidelines for Berlin and Donauwörth. The dissemination activities were very successful. 127 presentations about Buy Smart have been given, 40 national newsletters send out and 220 media coverings gathered. The final conference took place at EUSEW in Brussels. A good practice database containing 141 (92 new cases) examples of green procurement helps procurers to establish contact to other purchasers. Evaluation and recommendations for the NEEAPs in /62

9 1.4 Performance Indicators Specific objectives Target (quantification of success) Achievements Promotion of green (e-) Co-operation with 16 strategic partners, among 15 procurement them eight e-procurement platforms (two per partner) 48 training events (six per partner) (80 % of the 70 trainees to report that the sessions were helpful or very helpful) Implementation of GP 400 consultations (50 per partner) 460 Providing light house examples of GP Broad dissemination Energy savings Raising awareness and knowledge about GP and energy/ environmental labels Providing easy access of green criteria for professional purchasers Promotion of GP 160 in-house-seminars (20 per partner) (80 % of 168 the participants to report that the sessions were helpful or very helpful) 40 pilot projects (five per partner) (80 % of the 37 participants to report that the consultations were helpful or very helpful) Increase from 120 to least 200 good practice 141 examples (10 per partner) One English + seven additional websites in Yes national language at least 150 media coverings (print or online or 220 else) (at least 15 per partner) Five editions of Newsletter per country 40 distribution of 32,000 leaflets in Europe (2 x yes 2,000 per partner) 40 GWh/year (including consultations and purchasers reached via e-procurement platforms) 4 GWh/year by pilot projects 100,000 page impressions on all websites 2,487,470 hits Consultations + in-house consultations: 180 GWh/year Pilots projects: 105 GWh/year for 35 standard pilot projects and in addition GWh/year for the two unexpectedly large pilot projects preparing purchasing guidelines for Berlin and Donauwörth 1,000 downloads of tools 47,622 downloads of tools 400 consultations 460 Integration into eight e-procurement platforms 3 Presentations on at least 90 thematic related events (at least 10 per partner) at least 150 media coverings (print or online or else) /62

10 2. WHAT? What is green procurement? By selecting and purchasing goods and services that respect the environment, public and private buyers can give an important contribution to sustainable development. Green Public Procurement (GPP) is defined in the Communication (COM (2008) 400) Public procurement for a better environment as "a process whereby public authorities seek to procure goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle when compared to goods, services and works with the same primary function that would otherwise be procured. Green public procurement covers areas such as the purchase of energy-efficient computers and building components, lighting equipment, recyclable paper, clean vehicles, environment-friendly public transport, electricity deriving from renewable energy sources, household appliances or air conditioning systems complying with state-of-the-art environmental solutions. Source: [Pixelio] Green purchasing influences the production of eco-efficient goods and services. By promoting green procurement large buyers can provide industry with real incentives for developing green technologies. For some products, works and services the impact can be particularly significant since public purchasers account for a large share of the market (e.g. in IT equipment, energy-efficient building components, lighting). Finally, if the life-cycle costs of goods and service is considered, green procurement allows saving money while protecting the environment at the same time. With green purchasing materials and energy are saved, waste and pollution are reduced and sustainable behaviour patterns are supported. Total public procurement in the EU i.e. the purchases of goods, services and public works by governments and public utilities - is estimated at about 19 % of the Union s gross domestic product or 2 trillion. Its importance varies significantly between Member States ranging between 11 % and 20 % of their gross domestic product. 10/62

11 2.1 Current situation in public procurement in Europe Undated in year 2006 Sustainable Development Strategy set a target for EU countries to reach current level of the Member States best performing in Green Public Procurement. Commission s Communication from July 16th, 2008 defines this target as 50% to reach for each Member State starting from year According to the research made by PricewaterhouseCoopers 7 most advanced European countries in terms of environment (Green-7) UK, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Netherlands have achieved 45% of amounts spent on purchases according to the Green Public Procurement principles in years 2006/2007. The main groups of products where greener purchases were made were furniture, electricity, paper, and office IT equipment. [Collection of statistical information on Green Public Procurement in the EU, PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008] The action plan on sustainable production and consumption and sustainable industrial policy accepted in year 2008 implies development of a harmonised base for public procurement and incentives provided by the EU and its Member States. An important incentive was also given by year 2008 An European Economic Recovery Plan that meant to provide support for development of a procurement network of regional and local authorities to pool demand for clean buses and other vehicles and speed up the implementation of the CARS21 initiative. The fundamental basic requirements of the tendering directives are determined by primary law and comprise the principles of non-discrimination, equal-treatment, transparency and competition. There are two European directives that implement the legal framework for the public procurement. The EU directive 2004/18/EC that has replaced the directive 93/36/EEC is one of them. The procurement rules contain instructions concerning the choice of contractors and the evaluation of offers. The directive provides the basis for the consideration of environmental aspects in the awarding procedure. It also defines different possibilities to incorporate environmental aspects into the awarding procedure (see general guideline). Another directive is 2004/17/EC that is aimed to coordinate the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors. Procurement instructions have to be adopted on federal level, state level, municipalities and 11/62

12 legal entities of public law (organisations, institutions). The procurement instructions also apply for legal entities of private law, which are publicly funded or the state holds the majority (e. g. hospitals, public waste disposal enterprises, residential sector). These organisations are non-profit and operate for general public interests. Another related directive and important is Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC that came into force in October 2009 settled a framework for defining requirements for energy and environmental performance of energy-using and energy-related products. It implies introduction of improvement of environmental performance for products, by introducing legal requirements for such critically important energy consumption criteria as standby energy consumption and off-mode consumption, energy consumption reduction during a product s life cycle, etc. By introducing different targets, criteria, and measures Ecodesign Directive will guide product producers to production of more sustainable range of products thus investing in greenhouse gases mitigation and climate improvement. Also, the Directive involves a requirement for a manufacture or a supplier to provide environment and energy-related information to the consumer to ensure a best application of the product in terms of energy consumption and environmental performance. The directive will affect the main groups of products: lighting, household appliances, electric motors, etc. Rules and criteria provided in the framework of the Directive will help to improve and upgrade the requirements to be used in green procurement procedures together with (or even updating) the criteria that are used now based on requirements of energy and environmental labels. Environmental management systems are defined by international standards (ISO 14001) and the EU regulation (EMAS) are also a way how to enhance application of green procurement in private companies and reach certain environmental aims. The aims of the European Union environmental management system are to encourage environmental-friendly activities, products and services and their sustainable realization. The participating companies have to include these environmental goals in their corporate governance. 12/62

13 2.2 Current situation in public procurement in European countries GERMANY In Germany there are about 30,000 contracting authorities, public institutions at national, federal, regional, and municipal level, including public-owned enterprises. The procurement standards vary widely according the purchasing policies of the institution and individuals. The framework for procurement, as laid down in the relevant laws and regulations, applies for all public institutions. Nevertheless, if an administration wants to consider environmentally criteria for goods, services and materials it has to set out the criteria clearly in the tender documents. It is necessary to avoid discrimination of products or goods or suppliers from abroad. Depending on the threshold values mentioned in the directives and respectively in the German ordinances, there is a difference whether the tender documents are published in national official journals or in the European Tenders Electronic Daily (TED). Below the threshold values mentioned in the EC Directives the procurement procedures are laid down in the German competition law. Germany has transposed the directives 2004/18/EC and 2004/17/EC into German law. For procurement procedures are important: fourth chapter of the competition law against distortion of competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen, GWB), award ordinance (Vergabeverordnung VgV), contracting rules for awarding public services and works (Verdingungsordnungen VOL/A, VOF and VOB/A), and law on budgetary funds. The possibility to implement green criteria into the procurement process is laid down in national law in following paragraphs: 97 Abs. 4 GWB 4, 6 VgV 16 VOL, 8, 19 EG VOL 13/62

14 In January 2008, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology enacted a regulation which states the federal institutions have to procure products and services with criteria of environmental labels and in accordance with life cycle-costs. On August 20th, 2011 a revised ordinance on the award of contracts has come into force (award ordinance - Vierte Verordnung zur Änderung der Verordnung über die Vergabe öffentlicher Aufträge VGV). Focus of the revised regulation is the consideration of aspects of energy efficiency in public procurement by implementing the Directives 2009/33/EC and 2010/30/EC. Besides these regulations, the procurement procedure has to be in accordance to all general legal principles like equal treatment, transparency, as well as free movement of goods. The practice of public procurement differs between the levels of administration (national, federal, regional, local/municipal level), and the level of decentralisation with regard to consideration of green aspects in public procurement. At regional and local/municipal level a lot of public-owned enterprises exist (mostly active in the area of services for public). These enterprises have to consider the national regulations for public procurement in the same way as municipalities. Green public procurement is mentioned in the NEEAP of Germany with a reference to the Buy Smart project that supports the achievement of the efficiency targets. Local level At local level, the consideration of green aspects in public procurement depends on the engagement of the municipalities in energy efficiency policy/climate protection. Municipalities with a long-term experience in this area are more open to discuss and to decide to include green aspects into the local procurement procedures. This results in an atmosphere open for further activities in the area of climate protection. In these municipalities (and public-owned companies) the administration as well as the decisionmakers possess of a higher consciousness on questions regarding energy efficiency. So, the implementation of green procurement is embedded into the general strategy of the municipalities to protect the climate or to increase energy efficiency. Being aware of the potential benefits as well as the needs for energy efficiency and climate protection the implementation of guidelines for green procurement completes administrative actions. With regard to public-owned enterprises, the influence/representation of local decisionmakers in the management board is important. As public-owned enterprises have to follow mainly cost-effective guidelines here (lowest price), the decision-makers are able to 14/62

15 influence the business conditions in the direction of energy efficiency, especially with regard to highlight cost-savings and to consider life cycle costs. ITALY Before 2000, as a rule applicable to both the public and the private sectors the cheapest supplier was awarded the contract for large purchases, which made it difficult for innovative or green products, usually more expensive, to be purchased. However, since 2000 actions on green (public) procurement were put in place by local as well as central administrations. Italy was committed to reach a 50 % target of GPP in all public works in 2010 as requested by the European Commission with the Communication n. 400 of 16 July Although this target was not reached, it is important that public administrations have such commitment. Transparency and fair competition Public Administration, unlike the private sector, shall follow laws and rules aimed at transparency (through the use of standardised procedures avoiding subjective decisions) and fair competition (access to procurement schemes to national and international companies). Existing GPP initiatives In April 2007 the National Action Plan on GPP (PAN-GPP) was adopted in Italy. The Plan identifies priority products/ services categories for which a set of green minimum criteria for purchasing has to be identified and made mandatory through specific implementing Decrees. These categories include: furniture, waste management, public services, energy services, textiles and footwear, paper and stationery, catering, cleaning services. Minimum criteria have been published for paper, soil improvers, furniture, textiles, public lighting systems, office equipment and windows and fixtures. In July 2011 the second Italian Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (NEEAP) was approved. A specific chapter is devoted to green procurement, where the targets of the PAN-GPP are mentioned. AUSTRIA The awareness for energy efficiency in general is rather high in Upper Austria. Therefore in general many stakeholders are willing to consider energy efficiency criteria in their procurement processes. In addition, the discussions about legal requirements on European level and its 15/62

16 implementation on national and regional levels draw the attention of purchasers to the subject. A number of initiatives for public procurement already exist, mostly focusing on the public sector, but so far not many activities for energy efficient procurement of companies have been carried out. Sustainability criteria included in procurement at the moment concern largely other fields than energy (e.g. purchase of paper). The procurement tools developed in the frame of the project were therefore very well received. The development of simple performance sheets and calculation tools was very well received and helped to interest purchasers. LATVIA Buy Smart was the second project implemented in Latvia on green public procurement in general. A number of positive developments have been monitored during the project implementation and without any doubt can be accounted to the activities that have been implemented during both of the projects and especially within the framework of Buy Smart project. Even though green procurement has not been introduced as a legislative requirement, which would give a significant boost for development of green procurement at least within the public sector, some state financing programs have included application of green criteria into their tenders in order to stimulate more environmentally-friendly and efficient purchases in different fields (see D6.1. Draft policy recommendations for more specific information). Activities implemented within Buy Smart project helped to discover new barriers that delay development of green procurement approach in both public and private institutions. Training and especially consultations served as useful communication channels to understand the issues that procurement professionals have to deal with and what barriers are the most important. As most feedbacks proved, there are several types of barriers that are important for wide distribution of green procurement ideas among procurement specialists, and which have an external and internal nature. Further in the report the problems and barriers will be described in detail. 16/62

17 CZECH REPUBLIC In the Czech Republic, until November 2010 there had been no obligation to use public procurement, only several sets of recommendations published and promoted by the environmental institutions and agencies. Thus the requirements by the Rules for the application of environmental requirements in public contract award procedures and purchases made by the state and local administration in force since November 2010 are new to the public institutions and there are started to be slowly applied in some public institutions. There is no enforcement policy applied. In the Czech Republic, the concept of green procurement appeared for the first time only around the Year One of the first activities was the project Sparing Paperwork ( Šetrné papírování ), led by NGO Arnika which aimed to limit unnecessary paper use and support of recycling. In 2002 Network of ecological advisory centers STEP published an information brochure Buy green ( Nakupujte zeleně ). Within the projects Green office ( Zelená kancelář ) and Kompas web sites to promote green procurement were created, where basic rules and criteria for the green procurement were recommended. In 2007 environmental NGO Veronica has published the book Standardy zeleného úřadování, which is recommending standards for implementation of green public procurement. Promotion of the green procurement is currently supported by Ministry of Environment and Czech environmental information agency - CENIA. The Czech Eco-labelling Agency, one of the units of CENIA, is the body responsible for the Czech National Eco-labelling Programme. As for the year 2009, some 400 products and services hold the Czech Eco-label brand. Seven Czech companies also use directly the EU Eco-Flower logo. In total, 89 companies use the eco-label logo for 53 product categories. 17/62

18 SLOVENIA Public procurement now represents almost 50 % of national budget expenditures in Slovenia. Still, the public sector tends mainly to follow traditional, only lowest cost oriented patterns. The same practice could be identified in the large part of private sector, too. The first version of the modern national Public Procurement Act (ZJN) came into force in April 2004, as an update and upgrade of the version from the year 2000, which took into consideration Directives 92/50/EEC, 93/36/EEC, and 93/37/EEC. These procurement regulations did not comprise environmental (or green, sustainable, energy, etc.) criteria, although green procurement was being informally encouraged by the Government. In 2006 a new version of the Public Procurement Act (ZJN-2; later with some further alterations as ZJN-2A) was promulgated. Energy and environmental criteria were explicitly brought forward as a (recommended) possibility in contract award procedures. The Act introduced terms such as environmental labelling, environmental protection, and environmental characteristics. In 2009 the Government promulgated the national Action Plan for Green Public Procurement. The overall aim of this plan is to establish an operational system of green public procurement. Concrete specific targets are aimed at achieving certain shares of green public procurement by 2012: construction and buildings (30 %), cleaning (60 %), office IT (95 %), vehicles (40 %), electricity (100 %), furniture (50 %), paper (70 %), and catering (40 %). Fourteen measures are listed in this document, including: preparation of a governmental decree on green public procurement, trainings and educational activities, green procurement web platform, dialogue with commercial sector to develop green market, and introduction of EMAS into the public sector. The Decree is unfortunately still in its draft version, with last corrections and changes introduced in late October 2011, only about a year before the current Action Plan period already finishes. 18/62

19 SWEDEN Sweden has strong and experienced actors on national level who work and want to frame more green procurement. The Swedish Environmental Management Council (SEMCo) is one of the main actors in the implementation of the Swedish Government s Action Plan for Green Public Procurement The work includes awareness-raising among politicians and decision-makers, education and information along with elaborated work on further updating and developing the SEMCo GPP criteria portfolio. In Sweden SEMCo and Buy Smart do a similar work and they complement each other. SEMCo has limited resources and they can t cover the whole country by themselves. EU-projects, like Buy Smart, still have an important role to play. On a regional and more local basis there is still a lot to do to get more confident purchasers in this field and support them and to actually raise the amount of fulfilled green procurements. Cooperation between a strong national actor and EU-project is a potential success factor for the development of green procurement in larger parts of Sweden. Implementation of EU directives On a national level, the EU Energy Service Directive is implemented in the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan and there are certain parts that consider green procurement. For example there are mandatory measures about green procurement in regional and municipality energy strategies, EU requirements on vehicles and tires, new laws with environmental requirements on public authorities purchase and lease of vehicles and travels. A new EU Energy Efficiency Directive will come next year where procurement will be an important part of the directive and the public sector will be pushed to be leading the development towards a more energy efficient society. A fast implementation of new directives into the Swedish regulations with higher requirements on procurement helps to increase the development pace of green procurement 19/62

20 3. ON WHICH BASIS? Legal framework The interpretative communication on 4 th July 2001 of the European Commission (EC) with the member states as well as the verdicts of the European Court of Justice on 17 September 2002 (Case C-513/99 - Concordia Bus, Finland) and 4 December 2003 (C-448/01 Wienelectricity, Austria) have opened up procurement standards for green procurement on European level. The framework for the national legislation on public procurement is the European Directive 2004/18/EC (on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts) and the European Directive 2004/17/EC (procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors). The directives enlarge the possibilities for adopting environmental considerations in the selection of technical specifications, award criteria, and contract performance clauses for public procurement. The EC directives only apply to public procurement contracts that will probably exceed fixed thresholds (from January 2012) as stated in the EC Directives (regulation 1251/2011): for construction works: 5,000,000 Euro For products and services: o 130,000 Euro for federal state authorities o 200,000 Euro for other public authorities and entities o 400,000 Euro for water, energy, transport and postal services sectors. 20/62

21 3.1 International framework There are several global networks and organizations that facilitate development and application of green procurement through their programs and policies. Here we will list some of those. United Nations. Division for Sustainable Development, Agenda 21 program motivates governments to exercise greener procurement through changing consumption patterns. United Nations. Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics. Sustainable Consumption and Production Brunch. Environmental programme that supports sustainable public procurement by providing practical tools, information, and facilitating global networking. International Green Purchasing Network. Promotes and shares information internationally in order to promote development of greener product and service offers. World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement is a plurilateral agreement that does not oblige participants to take over green procurement principles, but allows including green and sustainability criteria into tendering documentation. 3.2 National legal framework National strategy aiming at energy efficient procurement and binding targets therein Austria Development of "15a-Aktionsplan": Article 7 describes energy efficient criteria forpublic procurement in order to follow the EU-directive 2006/32/EG e.g. consideration of LCC, contracting, must criteria for purchase of energy efficient appliances (Source: Vereinbarung zwischen Bund und Ländern gemäß Art. 15a B-VG zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie 2006/32/EG über Endenergieeffizienz, Artikel 2) Development of "Ökoleitfaden" with requirements, recommendations 21/62

22 and considerations on energy efficient criteria, relevant for public procurement of the regional government and its institutions (not for municipalities) Czech Republic No national strategy or action plan Government Regulation No. 720/2000 of 19 July 2000 addresses the issue of sales promotion and advancement and utilization of environmentally friendly products Act No.137/2006 on Public Procurement states that environmental friendliness of a product should be included in the criteria in the evaluation of the bids Germany In the national action plan for energy efficiency from September 2008 is a target for green procurement stated, but no specific figures are given Italy Since 2000 a modernisation process for the Public Administration is under development, including the project rationalisation of the purchasing of goods and services of the Public Administrations, promoted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance through CONSIP. The Interministerial Decree n. 135, was issued on 11th April 2007 adopting the National Action Plan on GPP (PAN-GPP). The Plan identifies priority products/ service categories for which a set of green minimum criteria for purchasing has to be identified and made mandatory through specific implementing Decrees. The results achieved by the implementation of the plan will be assessed by the use of the indicator being drawn up by the European Commission and Eurostat, which will probably be used to calculate the value of sustainable tenders compared with the total number of public tenders. It will be necessary to ensure that: a) the minimum environmental criteria, when available, are incorporated into CONSIP calls for tender where technically feasible, taking CONSIP s program of activities into account; b) at least 30% of the regions, provinces, metropolitan cities and municipalities with a population of over adopt procurement procedures complying with the minimum environmental criteria; 22/62

23 c) the bodies managing national parks and protected maritime areas that come under the Ministry of the Environment incorporate the minimum environmental criteria in their purchasing procedures. Slovenia National efficiency energy action plan for the period 2008 to 2016 National action plan for green public procurement for the period 2009 to 2012, adopted on May 21, 2009, set the targets for inclusion of environmental aspects in public procurement, related to energy efficiency, lower CO2 and other emissions, recycling, environment and waste management schemes etc. The targets are defined for eight priority groups of products and services for the year 2012 and represent the portion (in volume) of green public procurement in regard to conventional public procurement: Construction - 30 % Cleaning products and services - 60 % Office IT equipment - 95% Transport - 40% Energy % Furniture - 50 % Paper and printing services - 70 % Food and catering services - 40 % Sweden Swedish Strategy for Sustainable Development. Green public procurement (2006/07: 54). Environmental Code Mandatory integration of life cycle cost calculation as part of the procurement process Austria Czech Republic Germany Italy No, but in discussion e.g. "15 a B-VG" No No, but recommended No 23/62

24 Slovenia Sweden No No, but recommended Specialized state policies supporting energy efficient procurement Austria Czech Republic Germany Minimum Energy Performance Standards: binding regional energy efficient criteria have to be fulfilled e.g. energy performance indicator or regional requirement "OIB-Richtlinie" for buildings, circulation pumps, etc. Currently the Czech Government is preparing "Rules of implementation of environmental criteria for public procurement ( Pravidla uplatňování environmentálních kritérií při zadávání veřejných zakázek ) as a part of its non-legislative activities. It will be applicable for the public institutions, but will be also available for voluntary use by private organisations. In its appendices of the last proposal, there are included detailed methodologies for the purchase of furniture and office technologies. Similar specifications for the other sectors are planned to be prepared. On federal level: Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschrift zur Beschaffung energieeffizienter Produkte und Dienstleistungen vom 17. Januar 2008 no specific criteria. On state level: legislation in some states Information websites and campaigns Italy Slovenia In addition to the information given in Q. 2, in Italy there is the Ministerial Decree 15th April 2009 n.33 (substituting Decree n.185, 18 October 2007) creating the Steering Committee of the Action Plan including experts from APAT, CONSIP, ENEA and the Regions and a Tavolo di lavoro permanente : a permanent consultation forum for stakeholders (such as PA, Agenda 21, etc). Draft of Regulation on green public procurement, which will determine mandatory provisions on inclusion of minimum environmental requirements in public procurement. The regulation, which is based on EU GPP Training Toolkit, is currently in intergovernmental procedure 24/62

25 and is expected to be adopted this April Various education, training and awareness raising events shall be organised. Sweden In March 2009 the Government presented an action plan to improve the environmental requirements in public procurement. The goal is that the public sector should accelerate progress. In connection with the action plan being put forward, the government gave mandate to the Environmental Protection Agency to continuously monitor the development of green public procurement Responsibility concerning public purchase Austria Czech Republic Germany Italy Slovenia It is fragmented (federal states, municipalities) All governmental and public organizations from the president s office, the government, ministries, regional councils, city councils up to schools In Germany there are about different contracting authorities reaching from professional departments to persons who buy something once in a while besides their normal work. Responsibility concerning public purchase can be both at centralized (for the central PA) or at the local (regional) level, or even at the level of the single purchasing institution. Public procurement in Slovenia is fragmented. There are approximately Slovenian contracting authorities, most of them are fairly small and do not have specialised procurement officers. These contracting authorities are categorised as follows: 1. authorities of the Republic of Slovenia and of Slovenian local communities, 2. public funds, public agencies, public institutes, 3. public commercial institutions (public enterprises), and 4. other bodies governed by public law. There are however, some cases of centralised public procurement in 25/62

26 the area of health care and on government level, most of which is carried out as joint public procurement either by Ministry of Health or by Ministry of Public Administration Sweden It is fragmented. Control authorities for public procurement concerning energy efficiency requirements Austria Landesrechnungshof (referring to point 4) Germany No Italy The monitoring and market surveillance actions is under the responsibility of the central and regional Agencies in charge of public procurement for central/local administration (such as CONSIP) as well as the Ministry for Sustainable Development for those products whose energy efficiency is under an EU or national policy. Slovenia No Sweden No Consequences for not fulfilling obligatory energy efficiency targets in the public procurement process Austria BZ-Mittel-Erlass Czech Republic No consequences or obligatory targets. Germany No consequences or obligatory targets. 26/62

27 Italy No consequences Slovenia Targets regarding solely energy efficiency in public procurement have not been set (yet). Sweden Is regulated by different laws and regulations e.g. building regulation. 27/62

28 4. PROBLEMS? Barriers and opportunities for green procurement Green procurement has some own specifics, and cannot be conducted completely in the same way as standard procurement. Specific issues demand specific legal and operational knowledge. Therefore trained personnel is needed to set targets, use developed criteria and tools. In many EU countries, the green procurement is often more or less formally encouraged, but - being not compulsory - the neglecting of green issues often does not bring any consequences. Within the Buy smart project, the following main barriers to the green procurement implementation have been identified in the participating EU countries: Overview of the barriers to effective green procurement in the selected EU countries General barriers AT CZ DE IT LV SE SI Lack of investment means which hinders purchasing goods with higher initial costs. yes yes yes yes partly yes Perception of green products as more expensive. yes yes yes yes yes yes yes Lack of knowledge about energy savings, environmental impacts of the use of products. yes yes yes yes yes yes Lack of recieved training in green purchasing for buyers, lack of knowledge considering use of life cycle costs as a decision criteria. This is partly due to lack of interest or time/capacities on the side of the procurers. yes yes yes yes yes yes Lack of tools and know-how how to use them. yes yes yes yes yes Lack of political support and support from responsible managers; especially as for most of the organisations the green procurement is not obligatory and where it is obligatory, the monitoring and enforcement is lacking. partly yes partly yes yes yes yes Lack of proven information for the procurers on the products lack of verification of the information provided by the manufacturers yes yes yes yes yes yes Low awareness of the benefits of environmentally friendly products and services, environmental values are not important for many procurers. partly yes partly yes yes 28/62

29 Overview of the barriers to effective green procurement specific to the public sector in the selected EU countries Barriers specific for the public sector AT CZ DE IT LV SE SI Budgetary principles hinder refinancing investment costs from savings on operating costs due to legal uncertainty about shifting the allocated finances from one cost category to another one. yes yes yes yes Budgetary principles hinder refinancing investment costs from savings on operating costs as if the finances allocated for energy expenditures are not used during the particular year, the budget for the following year is usually reduced by the respective amount. yes yes yes yes yes Public institutions financed directly from the governmental budget must not take out loans by law. yes yes Lack of a exchange of best practice and information between public institutions yes yes partly yes yes yes partly Lack of monitoring of green procurement implementation. yes yes yes yes yes For more detailed information on the individual countries, please see the Evaluation Reports on Green Procurement Implementation for the respective countries participating on the Buy smart project 2. In the following chapters recommendations are given how to overcome the barriers and support development of the green procurement in the EU member states. The recommendations have been based on the experiences gained within the Buy Smart project. 4.1 Administrative and legislative measures for the public sector Administrative and legislative measures are necessary especially in the public sector as it is the only sector regulated by purchasing rules external to the organisation which are set by administrative guidelines or by law. The application of these rules is faced with several barriers to green procurement as described in the previous chapter. Purchases made by the private sector are not regulated so there are no obstacles to the implementation of green criteria that could be eliminated by public decision-makers. Therefore, in this sector, it is necessary to focus on a greater number of economic incentives, promotion and dissemination of information. The promotion of green procurement in the state and public administration will, nevertheless, also serve as an example for businesses and the wide public. 2 Available at smart.info/project en/evaluation 29/62

30 The award of public contracts which are environmentally friendly is regulated in particular by directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC. The practical application of these directives is clearly described in a handbook issued by the European Commission and called Buying Green! 3. In a Communication from the Commission No. COM(2008) 400: Public procurement for a better environment, in 2008 the European Commission further supported its intention to save public expenses and the environment by developing criteria for awarding public contracts which deal with energy efficiency. In addition to this, public entities which are subject to EU directives dealing with the award of public contracts must implement energy efficiency criteria in their public contracts regarding vehicles in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2009/33/EC on the Promotion of Clean and Energy Efficient Road Transport Vehicles. With regard to office equipment they have to implement respective criteria as formulated under the European Energy Star program which binds the central government bodies of the members states and the bodies of the EU to acquire equipment which meets the minimum energy efficiency requirements under the Energy Star program (EC No. 106/2008). From 2019, this will also concern new buildings. According to Directive 2010/31/EU on the Energy Performance of Buildings, they will have to reach a level of almost zero energy consumption. To promote this approach, the Commission proposes that public bodies should systematically require a high level of energy efficiency whenever they buy goods (such as IT equipment), services (in particular in the area of energy supplies) and construction works (for example renovation of buildings). A number of national criteria and approaches to GPP have been developed; however, the criteria used by Member States should be compatible to decrease the administrative burden of the suppliers operating in more member states and to avoid a distortion of the single market. In the Communication Public procurement for a better environment (COM (2008) 400) the Commission recommended the creation of a process for setting common GPP criteria. A first set of common GPP criteria was established in the framework of the Training Toolkit on GPP. The first set of criteria cover product and service groups in 10 sectors which had been identified as most suitable for implementing GPP. A second set of GPP criteria for /62

31 eight new sectors was made available in July The GPP criteria are based on data from an evidence base, on existing eco-label criteria and on information collected from stakeholders of industry, civil society and Member States. The evidence base uses available scientific information and data, adopts a life-cycle approach, and engages stakeholders who meet to discuss issues and develop consensus. Measures proposed on the EU level: The process of developing common GPP criteria for the EU member countries should be continued. Since the application of the GPP criteria by the member countries is voluntary, the process should aim to a more binding harmonisation process by making some of the key criteria obligatory for the member states. Common methodologies and information should be provided on the costing of a product over its life cycle. Common methodology and rules on the GPP indicators and monitoring should be set on EU level. Modern policy making sets targets that should be reached in a certain time frame. For green public procurement this has been done by the European Union in the year 2008 with the Communication (COM (2008) 400) Public procurement for a better environment. The Communication includes guidelines for public authorities on the definition and verification of environmental criteria, tools for stimulating GPP and examples for a number of product groups. It also offers legal and operational guidance. In order to check if the targets could be reached, a monitoring should be implemented in the EU. Building up green markets: One of the barriers is that for some products no or only niche markets for green products and services exist. However, the existence of at least a niche market for greener products of a certain product group is essential for engaging into green procurement. A tender that does not attract any offers is counterproductive. It is true to a certain extent, that demand creates supply. However, in today s world with the strong position of large multinational companies, it needs very strong purchasing power to make a large company develop a new or redesign an existing product. This is an area, where again political initiatives are needed, and some very promising ones are under way. The implementing measures in the context of the Energy-using Products (EuP) Directive and the reorganisation and reclassification of the European Energy Label will help enormously to ban inefficient products from the markets and highlight excellent appliances and products for the customer. Additional legal requirements harmonised on the EU level, beginning with public authorities, should push professional purchasers to give systematically more attention to green procurement. The European Energy Star regulation is a good example for the product group of IT equipment, the energy saving regulation for buildings, and the 31/62

32 Directive 2009/33/EC for road vehicles. Similar initiatives that either provide criteria or demand the calculation of life cycle costs should be considered for further product groups. Measures proposed on the national level: Designation of an administrative unit responsible for the promotion of green public procurement, which will be responsible for the creation and implementation of an action plan for promotion of green public procurement in the particular Member State. To be able to take the steps necessary to implement the action plan, it is also necessary to allocate the necessary funding from the governmental budget. The strategy for the promotion of green public procurement will be created and regularly updated. Realisation of the strategy should be monitored regularly. It is recommendable that the Member States formally endorse the already developed common voluntary EU GPP criteria. This would mean inclusion common GPP criteria in the National Action Plans and guidance on GPP. Member states should prepare guidelines and model tendering documents to ease the implementation by the public institutions. The approved criteria and guidelines should be continuously amended to reflect the latest developments within the EU in the future. To introduce energy efficiency as a compulsory criterion for the purchase of selected groups of products by public organisations. To support decision-making based on life cycle costs rather than on the initial value of investments e.g. by the inclusion in model tendering documents and approved procedures for purchases made by public institutions. To promote centralized bulk procurement for public institutions, e. g. on the national or the regional level. The centralization of purchases will influence the supply side of the market when it comes to energy efficiency criteria. Further more, centralization of public procurement will lead to well-trained experts regarding GPP. Consistently insisting on the fulfilment of the applicable legislative measures supporting energy efficiency criteria application in public procurement and adopting new legislative requirements or other rules (energy-efficient appliances and vehicles). When purchasing, renting or refurbishing the public buildings energy audits, energy performance certificates for buildings and similar tools should be used. A higher number of good examples of institutional role models is needed. Pilot projects should be implemented and more institutional encouragement and additional institutional support from national and regional authorities is needed. Good practice cases with the procedures, advantages, results, impacts of green procurement should be 32/62

33 promoted and disseminated. The implementation of green procurement (although usually gradually introduced) may require the re-organisation and re-definition of the overall purchasing policy. This must be done with a good knowledge of the real qualitative and quantitative needs and of the (green) criteria to be considered. To create and update recommendations for the use of specific technologies stating the legislative requirements as to which specific information must be stated by the supplier, and allowing the application of environmental criteria (of energy efficiency) when deciding on the selection of products. This concerns sources of light, energy efficient appliances, technologies for energy efficient buildings and energy efficient vehicles. These recommendations will help the contracting agencies to push the installation of energy efficient products and technologies. 4.2 Economic and financial instruments Internalisation of externalities into the energy prices The higher the prices of energy, the greater the economic motivation to save energy. An increase in energy prices by internalization of externalities is therefore a very strong instrument to create conditions for the development of green procurement. Up to now, in most of the EU countries users of energy-consuming products have only been paying a minimum price for environmental damage caused by their energy consumption. If the damage becomes part of the price, buying environmentally friendly products will lead to greater savings of operating costs and thus create economic motivation for green procurement. Measures proposed on the EU level: To continue a harmonised process of increasing the level of internalisation of externalities through obligations put on the EU member states. This includes especially minimum levels of the energy/carbon taxes and the EU emission allowance trading scheme. Measures proposed on the national level: Higher energy tax rates: While the tax rates applied to fossil fuels have been a sufficient motivation to save energy in a few EU member states, in most of the countries price of energy have been increased only by few percent by energy taxation. The full volume of emission allowances should start to be sold to big energy sources in auctions as soon as possible. In some member states eligible to exceptions still 33/62

34 substantial part of the emission allowances is planned to be provided for free in the following years. 4.3 Financial subsidies and funding Only few subsidy programs in the EU member countries have focused on the promotion of green procurement so far. Several programs, however, provide subsidies for the implementation of energy-saving measures in buildings and for the use of renewable resources in energy production. This can provide a significant financial support to green procurement in the buildings product group. The remaining groups of products have been rarely supported. Measures proposed on the national level: To create a special subsidy sub-program to support pilot projects dealing with green procurement by the public administration in the areas which are currently not supported: electric appliances, office equipment and lighting. The support for the pilot project would be limited in time and would last until there is a sufficient development of green procurement in the given area and until there is a sufficient number of good examples from the real life. To set criteria for the existing and planned subsidy programs, so that a greater priority in the services and products selection process could be given to life cycle costs, energy efficiency and other environmental criteria. The requirement of a significant minimum share of initial price is usual in certain subsidy programs in some member states. Tax reliefs Tax relief is another way to support economic return of investments in energy savings. Measures proposed in the area of tax relief: To apply different forms of tax reliefs on selected energy-efficient technologies and appliances. 4.4 Competitions To foster innovation competitions can be conducted for public procurers or municipalities. Attractive funding for the winners would create substantial interest of the participants. One good example of using a competition for the support and promotion of green procurement is Bundeswettbewerb Stadtbeleuchtung focused on efficient street lighting in Germany. 34/62

35 Another one was a competition focused on environmentally friendly operation of offices and organizations established by the region of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic. Measures proposed on the national level: State administration bodies, regions, towns and municipalities will organize competitions showing good practice examples of green procurement in public institutions based on pre-set criteria, in particular in the area of bulk procurement of office equipment, household appliances, lighting and green vehicles. The promotion of good examples, winners and motivation in the form of financial reward will be part of the competition. 4.5 Dissemination of information and promotion The new green procurement requirements faced by the public organisations must be accompanied by mutual coordination of processes, education, dissemination of information and promotion of green procurement in all product categories. However, the private sector should not be excluded from the support. Since in the private sector green procurement is completely voluntary, a strong emphasis should be put on motivation of the procurement actors and economic factors. Convincing and motivating the responsible staff to engage in a new approach may be the most difficult but at the same time the most promising strategy to boost green procurement. In many places, where green procurement is implemented successfully, there are committed personnel, willing to make a difference. To enable the personnel to implement green procurement more easily it is necessary to provide them with the necessary knowledge and tools, and to offer to them information sources with good practices and personal advice. Respective trainings must be broadly organised and promoted, also for multipliers, who will in turn transfer them to their clients. Since today many procurement activities are established with the help of external service providers, e.g. professional e-procurement platforms, these service providers can be important promotional partners and multipliers for green procurement. For young, innovative companies taking part in a public tender might be a challenge. Therefore information and trainings should be also provided for them on how to take part in a public tender and on how to score with green innovations. 35/62

36 Implementation of the measures proposed below would require allocation of new personnel and financial resources in most of the EU member states. Given the small amount of these resources at the moment, cooperation with international green procurement projects (supported from EU funds) and with non-governmental organizations should be developed as much as possible. Measures proposed on the national level: To support green procurement, it is necessary to ensure promotion, dissemination of information, education, and creation of capacities by organizing workshops, courses, conferences, by providing free information and by creating an internet portal and helpdesk dealing with the following subjects: general and central information on green procurement and its benefits; suitable procurement procedures in line with the current legislation, rules and methodologies; information on environmentally friendly products and on the way to obtain information to assess environmental criteria and to use eco-labels; Calculation tools for the calculation of life cycle costs and for the assessment of other criteria in accordance with the legislation, official GPP guidelines and applicable methodologies. Further, networking and establishment of a cooperation platform will not only increase the effectiveness of using available means, but also allow for interconnecting the know-how and the experience of various interest groups. It will also help to provide effective and targeted support by providing necessary information. 36/62

37 4.6 Problems and corrective actions in the Buy Smart project E-procurement has not been taking off as good as the EU expected it to. The target of the Commission's 2004 "Action Plan for the implementation of the legal framework for electronic public procurement" has been: "By 2010 at least 50 % of public procurement above the EU public procurement threshold will be carried out electronically." In 2010 there was a press release saying: In some Member States, up to 5 % of procurement procedures above the EU thresholds now involve electronic processing. However, public authorities are often deterred by the significant costs and challenges of the switch-over (see press release from 18/10/ format=html&aged=0&language=en&guilanguage=en). Therefore in some countries it has been difficult to start collaborations with e-procurement platforms. E-Procurement works quite differently in the Buy Smart partner countries and so the collaborations with e- procurement platforms vary from country to country. In some countries e-procurement platforms don t want to sign a cooperation agreement, although they are happy to present information about Buy Smart and set a link to the website. The collection of good practice examples did not work out as expected, because we did not just take over the old good practice examples but wrote to every institution and asked for their approval to publish the example on the Buy Smart website and asked for any updates. This was quite time consuming. Some partners from the GreenLabelsPurchase project are not part of the Buy Smart consortium any more and some companies did not want to be mentioned any more, because actions that were considered a good practice four years ago are maybe not that special anymore today. This is especially the case with appliances with a short life cycle like IT or the procurement of electricity. We could only take over 49 old examples and not 120 like we expected to. But we managed to collect 92 new cases, more than the 80 new cases that were planned. 37/62

38 5. SUCCESSES? Impacts of Buy Smart 5.1 Germany In Germany Buy Smart was mentioned in the national NEEAP as a project which helps to reach the national efficiency targets. The main conclusions resulting from the project implementation are: It is of great importance to activate municipalities for participation in training seminars and inhouse trainings as early as possible after start of the project. Especially with regard to the development and implementation of pilot projects the information has to be forwarded in an early stage of the project as the drawn-out decision making processes in municipalities have to be considered. To bring forward green procurement in public procurement cost-benefits have to be pointed out, especially with regard to life cycle costs. On this way it is possible to show, that in a long-term higher initial costs for costs for any kind of technical equipment will be compensated by lower operating costs. Lack of technical information availability and people training is still one of the existing barriers towards the purchasing of eco-efficient products. This appears as a paradox in the current situation of free and abundant information available to almost everybody through electronic media. But it is not: abundance of information does not necessarily mean that the available information is objective, transparent and technically correct. The creation of helpdesks should be supported only if high quality information is granted; otherwise they will only increase frustration and confusion of purchasers. Training 38/62

39 courses are also needed, for the people working in the procurement departments. Again precise, transparent and technically correct information should be provided during the training along with good practice examples. Instead of focussing only on the purchasing price, more weight should be given to other criteria, better addressing the long-term benefit of a product/service to promote really innovative products. In this respect, the LCC (life cycle cost) approach, i.e. the cost of the product during the entire life should be promoted. The creation of LCC electronic tools should be accompanied by a clear analysis and description of the input data (such as discount rate, life duration, allocation of the different costs, energy prices, etc.) and their influence on the achieved output. However, it is also important that support materials are suited to local legislation, market, and other specific conditions. The time for green procurement including energy efficiency criteria in purchasing decisions is ideal. European, national and regional policies draw the focus on energy efficiency which is an important key to achieve CO2 reduction targets in the future. Whenever possible, financial support programmes should include energy efficiency criteria and these criteria should be explained and be very transparent and understandable for users. A financial and promotion programme for outstanding pilot purchasing projects would be helpful to achieve leading examples. Here apart from having GP related tools available an access to established financial mechanisms (green subsidies, eco loans etc.) is one of the most important drivers for keeping GP practice alive and also for influencing a transition of the existing market to a green market. Would you recommend the Buy Smart tools? 3% 2% 95% It is necessary to get in contact with the target group. National Steering committees are an efficient way as well as in-house workshops with the purchasers of the institution. G(P)P finds its way in all sorts of purchasing activities. It proved useful to link Buy Smart activities with several other projects that work with the product groups addressed in Buy Smart or with the same target group. For example, if in some cases solely the green procurement content of certain activities (event, direct contact etc.) would initially not be interesting to listeners or clients, then putting GP into a wider and more complex 39/62

40 context of their activities and plans did draw attention. Often the clients are convinced that their actions are logical and the only sensible ones (i.e. choosing the lowest price), but illustrating GP possibilities in a broader sense of a particular subject can help them to make a transition to more sustainable approaches. SUCCESS STORY OF GERMANY The interest and participation at the training seminars was very good. In the result of the training seminars it became apparent that the seminar objectives as well as the instruments developed by Buy Smart (at the basis of Green Label Purchase) are helpful for the work of the staff in the municipalities responsible for development of public tenders. 95% of the participants of the training seminars (80 from 102) answered to the question Do you propose colleagues to use the buy smart tools? with yes. This shows that the tools, e.g. the instrument to calculate the life cycle cost are helpful for the development of tenders. Besides that, 87% of the participants answered to the question Are the expectations of the training fulfilled? with Yes (44 of 102) or predominantly (45 of 102). This shows that the objectives of the training seminars meet in general the needs as well as the expectations of the participants. The participants of the training seminars particularly liked the comprehensive information and material about the objective of green procurement, and important links. They commended the practical, well-arranged, and clear structure of the training seminars, as well as the possibility to exchange first-hand information between representatives of the municipalities. 5.2 Italy The participation of ENEA to he Buy Smart project resulted in three main impacts: the support of the inclusion of the GPP in the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, the support of the cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and the signature of a specific Annex on GPP within the agreement between ENEA, CONSIP and Ministry of Economics. These three actions will last beyond the end of the Buy Smart project. NEEAP - National energy efficiency Action plan: on July 27, 2011 the second Italian Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (as required by Directive 2006/32) was approved. It retains the target of 9% (126,540 GWh/year) reduction in energy consumption by 2016, the general approach and the methodology for calculating the target as described in the 40/62

41 first NEEAP of With the extension to 2020 the NEEAP 2011 aims to link policies on RES with energy efficiency policies. In fact, energy efficiency is a key objective of the Climate-Energy Package, and the National Action Plan for Renewable includes assumptions regarding the efficiency. The NEEAP 2011 is expected to achieve a saving of 184,672 GWh/year for The plan for energy efficiency aims at: o Energy savings in buildings, o Developing the mechanism of white certificates, o Organizational and technological interventions in the transport sector, o Energy efficiency in industry and services. Within the NEEAP a specific chapter is devoted to green procurement, where the targets of the AP on GPP are mentioned. ENEA-Ministry for Environment cooperation: ENEA is part of the Steering Committee of the GP Action Plan (including also experts from APAT, CONSIP and the Regions) and is responsible for the definition of the minimum criteria on building components. ENEA-CONSIP-MEF cooperation: on 1st April 2009, the Framework Cooperation Agreement between ENEA, Ministry for Economy and Finance and CONSIP was signed, aimed at the development of measures related to energy efficiency of end-uses and energy services in the sector of public procurement of goods and services. The Agreement foresees a Technical Annex including GPP. The Action Plan (Technical Annex) of the Agreement titled New efficient technologies and methodologies in public structures, was signed on 27th April It foresees 4 actions to be developed: o Collection of the consumption data on the Agreements about real estate-energy and definitions of clusters o New technologies and best practices for schools and public buildings and adoptions of innovative proposals and contracts o Technologies for efficient public lighting to be integrated with electric energy production o Analysis of the use of Green Procurement and support to further implementation. 41/62

42 SUCCESS STORY OF ITALY The major success story developed within the Buy Smart project is the realization of the five pilot projects that are available in English and in the national language on the project website. Due to the period of heavy economical crisis the development of five pilot projects was more complex than before because of the lack of the money to purchase eco-efficient products. It is not a surprise that three out of the five pilot projects were done for lighting, because the installation of a more efficient lighting system has a short payback time. 5.3 Austria An important impulse for a more energy efficient procurement is expected with the second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan of Austria in According to the "EU Directive 2006/32/EG on Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services", the Member States have to present a second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) until 30 June 2011 the latest. The Austrian NEEAP (June 2011) describes a range of measures in Austria to implement the Directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services. To comply with the role model function of the public sector in Austria, the following measures are highlighted: in-depth renovation of buildings owned and used by the national government as well as partly in the frame of regional programmes energy efficiency criteria in the frame of the Bundesvergabegesetz, the federal act on public tenders, and through procurement procedures on national and regional level a central organisation on national level for procurement shows some signs to be more oriented on energy efficiency criteria and concrete requirements for public procurement in the frame of the sustainable procurement action plan Information and advice are ensured through various and broad targeted information campaigns on national level as well as by the regions, the "Bundesländer". Targeted energy advice and energy audits are implemented by trained energy advisers. 42/62

43 SUCCESS STORY OF AUSTRIA The NEEAP also provides concrete measures and their evaluation. The measure "procurement of energy efficient products" mentions the Buy Smart website and the Buy Smart criteria as literature for further reading. 43/62

44 5.4 Latvia Despite the wide selection of electronic and media means that are available in order to reach the target audience the most efficient way of cooperation appeared to be the face-toface approach and this approach should be maintained within the next projects in order to achieve better results. Electronic mailing proved low results and raised much lower interest then personal contacts, which also is possible in Latvia due to Ekodoma s wide range of contacts throughout the country and small size of the country itself. A complex approach to all levels of employees in the target institution has to be practiced in trainings in order to achieve a good level of understanding of green procurement benefits and also to avoid good results achieved on one level (e.g. procurement personnel), which is neutralized by unwilling top management or another decision making personnel. An activity for product and service providers has to be foreseen in order to educate this sector of involved into green procurement professionals. Quite often a lack of understanding from the supplier s side worsened the willing of a company to implement green procurement again in order to make the process less complicated. SUCCESS STORY OF LATVIA Several long-term trainings were given for 1st year Master s program students of the Institute of Environment and Heat Supply Systems at Riga Technical University within Environmental Policy course. This practice has already started within GreenLabelsPurchase project and a short practical task has developed into a one-semester hands-on project work that consists of three parts. The students are given a task to develop procurement tender for purchasing of a number of products covered by BuySmart purchasing instruments. They are obliged to use technical specifications and the documentation must comply with Latvian legislation on procurement implementation. The students prepare and presents an offer for the tender. The students perform evaluation of the three offers according to the tender documentation and using the BuySmart calculation tool and presents the results This activity is a long-term activity and is planned as a part of the Environmental Policy course at least within the next two years. 44/62

45 5.5 Czech Republic One of the biggest barriers to promote and implement green procurement in the Czech Republic is luck of financing sources, which proved to be a reason why a number of institutions interested in realisation of green procurement projects did not realise any. Currently, the only attractive green procurement projects are those where there is a necessity of investment and the higher investment are possible to be repaid from future energy savings. Even then, most of the time realisation was financed by external financing schemes such as energy performance contracting. Another hurdle for green procurement is split ownership and operation & maintenance where the operational managers are interested in conducting the green procurement investments, often obtaining approval from the owner is difficult or time consuming. This is connected to unclarity of the administrative rules within the public institutions. Important success factor of the realisation of green procurement projects was trust of the organisations. That was based on having experience with implementing energy efficiency measures or procurement before and personal contact with consultants offering advice on green procurement. Key success factor is at least one responsible employee, mostly in higher position devoted to realisation of the green procurement project. SUCCESS STORY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Within the Buy Smart project, five green procurement pilot projects have been implemented in the public institutions. Four of these pilot projects were conducted in the municipalities while one of them was conducted at the Ministry of Environment. Success is shown by significant savings achieved that is 93 GWh in heat consumption and 18 GWh in electricity consumption during whole lifetime of the projects. As a result, about 40 Mt of CO2 will be saved. In total the realisation of four pilot projects within the building product group will bring about EUR of cost savings annually and almost 9 million Euros over the expected lifetime of 15 years. The success is especially appreciated during the financial crisis when it is not easy for the municipalities to finance the green procurement measures. 45/62

46 5.6 Slovenia ZRMK will continue to cooperate with the Governmental ministries in developing and upgrading the GPP legislative background and its practical implementation. As the national Eco fund intends to keep the programme of subsidies for RUE and RES measures for the private and public (schools, kindergartens) sectors, we will continue to provide support for these activities, too. We have informally and formally provided remarks and suggestions about GPP for national strategic documents, including NEEAP. As promoting GP and use of LCA and LCC analyses is part of the ZRMK business activities anyway (including drafting of relevant regulation by appointment from the Government) we will remain engaged in this field. We hope to achieve a further breakthrough and broader impact within the Buy Smart+ project activities. In December there will be parliamentary elections in Slovenia. Some of the political parties have put G(P)P on their agenda as priority measures, and we could claim some credit for that due to direct suggestions and exposing of these principles as crucial for the improvement of general environmental and energy performance. SUCCESS STORY OF SLOVENIA An initially unexpected success has been the fruitful cooperation with the governmental authorities responsible for GPP resulting in the direct inclusion of Buy Smart activities into the National Action Plan for GPP (AN ZeJN). To our knowledge an EIE project run by a private company never achieves this level in strategic national documents. This cooperation resulted also in several common activities, including an international conference on GPP organised in cooperation with DG Environment and two foreign embassies. It also helped Buy Smart activities to achieve more formal credentials and relevance. ZRMK provided special chapters on G(P)P to guidebooks published by two publishing companies, Dashofer Verlag and Forum Media. This represented a significant upgrade to usual dissemination activities via articles and press releases. The subscribers to these guidebooks vary from municipal and governmental offices, Eco fund, private and public investors, construction and other private companies, to banks and other financial institutions. According to a notice from the editors the content received very positive feedback. With the Forum Media guidebook the complete set of Buy Smart tools (guidebooks, performance sheets, and calculation tools) was released on a CD Rom, thus making it directly accessible to interested parties. 46/62

47 5.7 Sweden One of the project aims was to raise the awareness and interest for green procurement and here is a certain success and a feeling of increase of interest during the project time. Also now in the end of the project there have been press releases and marketing information and the response is positive. This means that there is an expectation of need of advices, consulting and training also after the project and there is an ambition to meet this demand in the frame the regional energy agency can do it. During the project there have also been fruitful discussions with strong national actors like the Swedish Environmental Management Council (SEMCo). The outcome is that the regional energy agency will try to cooperate with SEMCo and help them to get more effects on a regional and local basis. They have high ambitions. There is a limitation of resources in the central national organization but they are interested in cooperation. SUCCESS STORY OF SWEDEN One of the pilots in the project is about purchasing new vehicles using some of the Buy Smart criteria and considering energy and environmental aspects during the evaluation of the bids. This is a success story in the way that so far about 25 biogas vehicles has been purchased and the share of green vehicles renewable fuels in the municipality has raised considerably and there are plans to go further in this direction. The municipality has recognized the transportation sector both in the internal organization and in the whole society as the most important part to improve to reach climate goals with 20% reduce of CO2- emissions. There will be more measures in the transportation sector and there are already improvements such as installation of a biogas fuel station and there are plans to introduce an initial infrastructure also for loading electrical vehicles. 47/62

48 6. HOW? Green procurement in practice 6.1 Green public procurement step by step Step 1 Consider which products, services or works are the most suitable to fulfill your needs on the basis of their environmental impact and of other factors, such as their presence on the market, available technologies, prices and visibility. Step 2 Clarify your needs and express them appropriately. Choose a green title to communicate your policy to the outside world. It is a good way to ensure transparency for potential suppliers or service providers and for the public. Step 3 Draw up clear and precise technical specifications, using energy labels and/or environmental factors if possible. Applicable energy labels and technical specifications can be found on the Buy Smart project website and in the developed guidelines. Step 4 Establish award criteria based on the list of criteria mentioned in the public procurement directives (Directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC). Where appropriate include environmental criteria to prove technical capacity to perform the contract. Inform potential suppliers, service providers or contractors that they can use environmental management schemes and declarations to prove compliance with the relevant criteria. You will find award criteria in the developed guidelines and performance sheets. Step 5 Lay down the award criteria (in accordance with the above mentioned EU procurement Directives) for the economically most advantageous tender. Then you have to define the relevant environmental criteria either as a benchmark to compare green offers (if the technical specifications qualify the contract as being green) or as a way of introducing an environmental element (if the technical specifications define the contract in a neutral way) and give it a certain weight. Do not forget to consider the life cycle costing. Step 6 48/62

49 Using contract performance clauses is a way of setting relevant environmental conditions in addition to the green contract. The contractor will than be obliged to fulfil all performance clauses of the contract. It would be an optimum if you can insist on environment-friendly transport methods. 6.2 Label The EU developed two complementary ways of reducing the energy consumed by products: Labelling to raise awareness of consumers on energy consumption in order to influence their buying decisions (such as labelling schemes for household appliances), and energy efficiency requirements imposed to products from the early stage on the design phase with the EuP Directive. Energy labels and consumption certificates are instruments which the purchaser can use for his purchasing decisions regarding energy efficiency. However, with the increasing number of 49/62

50 energy labels (for appliances, buildings, green electricity, IT equipment, and clean vehicles) there is a certain risk of confusion for purchasers and end consumers. Therefore we provide information about energy labels on this website. Energy label criteria can be used for an environmentally and purposeful purchasing process. With integration of the criteria of energy-labels into purchasing documents, an environmentally friendly procurement can be accomplished. 6.3 Building components A building is an organic system, whose performance depends on energy flows. With correct, well considered and expert creative design of its individual elements and by taking into account their interaction, energy consumption can be significantly reduced during the whole life-time of a building. A parallel step in the planning process is design of a whole building, its components and support systems, which besides securing efficient use of energy creates also suitable and satisfactory living and working conditions. Green procurement in the building sector combines energy- and environmental aspects with well-being of occupants. Figure 1: Example of an average energy balance for a typical single-family house (Source: BCEI ZRMK) 50/62

51 6.4 Green Electricity With the liberalisation of the electricity market in 1998, the basis for a free competition on the European electricity market was created. Electricity became 1999 a free tradable commodity in most Member States. Only few distinctive features exist for electricity, e. g. reliability or frequency fluctuations. For the majority of the customers the price is the most important decision criterion, since the characteristics, specified above, are taken for granted. Due to the high quality standard in most Member States, only the origin and/or the generation of the electricity remains as further sometimes ignored or undetectable comparison element. In order to provide consumers with effective and understandable purchasing advices, despite the complexity of the electricity market, different green power labels were developed and introduced into the market. Figure: Installed capacity for the supply of electricity from renewable energy sources in the EU, 2007 (BMU 2009) 51/62

52 6.5 Household appliances Different household appliances are commonly used in private household but also in companies, administrations and other institutions: fully equipped kitchens are often at office workers disposal as well as in many public buildings as schools, kindergartens, hospitals, etc. The most common household appliances in office buildings are refrigerating appliances, ovens, ranges and dishwashers. In schools, hospitals, kindergartens etc., also washing machines, dryers or washer-dryers are used. During the procurement of household appliances a contribution to the preservation of resources and a reducing of the operating cost could be achieved by taking into consideration energy efficiency and environmental criteria. Additional criteria may be also considered in order to prevent the impact of the manufacturing process and the use phase on the environment. The EU developed two complementary ways of reducing the energy consumed by products: Labelling to raise awareness of consumers on energy consumption in order to influence their buying decisions (such as labelling schemes for household appliances), and energy efficiency requirements imposed to products from the early stage on the design phase with the Ecodesign Directive. Different household appliances are commonly used in private household but also in companies, administrations and other institutions: fully equipped kitchens are often at office workers disposal as well as in many public buildings as schools, kindergartens, hospitals, etc. During the procurement of household appliances for offices, schools etc., a contribution to the preservation of resources and a reducing of the operating cost could be achieved by taking into consideration energy efficiency and environmental criteria. Additional criteria may be also considered in order to prevent the impact of the manufacturing process and the use phase on the environment. 52/62

53 6.6 Lighting Lighting has a substantial impact on the environment, accounting for up to 40 % of electricity used in nonresidential buildings. Major energy savings can be achieved. Examples from the field have shown that between 30 % and 50 % of electricity used for lighting could be saved investing in en-ergy-efficient lighting systems. While the environmental impact of most products occurs during resource use, production, transport and disposal phase, lamps have the highest environmental impact during their use phase - this can reach up to 90 % depending on the lamp type (European Lamp Companies Federation). Thus, it is worthwhile to consider energy-efficient lamp types for replacement or new installa-tions. With the procurement of lamps an ergonomic, environmentally sound and economical lighting of the working place should be assured. A new lamp can be considered eco-efficient if it achieves the same performance with lower energy consumption. Besides the initial costs, the energy consumption as well as the life time is considered in the economic evaluation. 6.7 Office equipement The energy consumption in Information Technology (IT) has increased significantly in the last few years. Thus, office equipment is becoming one of the most significant energy-consuming sectors in office buildings and ranges commonly between 20 % and 40 %. On the other hand, savings of around % are economically feasible and will reduce the energy costs of each workplace by around 200 within the 5-year lifetime of the equipment [Energy-Star]. According to the EU Comission, the energy consumption of office devices left on stanby is 47 TWh per annum. This equates to costs of 6.4 m and emissions of 19 megatons CO2. Without the implementation of any measures, the energy consumption is expected to increase constantly. Therefore the Ecodesign Regulatory Committee approved the regulation No 1275/20081 endorsed for reducing the standby and off mode power consumption of 53/62

54 electrical and electronic houselhold and office equipment. It specifies, for example, the maximum power consumption permitted for office devices left on standby. The intended admissible energy consumption in 2010 will allow 1 Watt for devices that are switched off or are offline and 0.5 Watt in The regulation s goal is to save 35 TWh energy per year until Vehicles Picture: AboutPixel.de Transport is an indispensable component of our society and of our life. It constitutes an important pillar of our economic wealth. But it should not be ignored that the road traffic in particular contributes significantly to the emission of air pollutants and climate change gases. In spite of constant technical progress, the need for action for more environmental friendly products in the field of freight and passenger transport still remains. Challenge N. 1: Climate protection Since the 1990s, the beginning of the climate protection efforts around the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has registered an increase of more than 20 % in transport-related CO2 emissions. Successful reductions in other sectors are all but swallowed up by transport. About half of these transport-related CO2-emissions are caused by passenger cars, light utility vehicles, and buses. In Europe every year more than 15 million vehicles are newly registered, 92 % of them in the older EU-15. Improvements in the efficiency of vehicles, as achieved by the car industry in the past, have as yet been neutralised by a higher traffic volume and vehicles' (in some cases substantial) extra equipment and higher motorisation. It is of the utmost importance that the "climate-friendly" technologies available on the market will be taken into consideration during vehicle procurement. Challenge N. 2: Air Pollutants 54/62

55 Furthermore, the transport - being the locally most significant cause of pollutant emissions (such as particulate matter) - has a central role to play in the prevention of air pollution. When evaluating the pollutant emissions of vehicles, it has to be taken into consideration that they are emitted at face level and therefore is not thinned. The traffic in cities causes up to 50 % of the particulate matter emission, although it just reaches 20 % of the total particulate matter emissions. The need for action is also visible in the EU legal frameworks: in the past, the threshold value for particulate matter, according to the European Air Quality Framework Directive 96/62/EC, has frequently been exceeded in many cities in Europe, so that the emissions load shall be reduced by further Clean Air Plans and Action Plans in the future. One important measure in the transport sector is therefore a traffic ban for vehicles with extremely high pollutant emissions in the city centres. Challenge N. 3: Noise Noise is another of the local problems in health and environmental protection. It is disturbing and also poses a risk to health. The main cause for noise in cities is traffic: in Berlin, for example, 61 % of inhabitants at main roads have to deal with a noise level above 65 db(a) at day-time; at night-time even more than 78 % are affected by noise levels of 55 db(a). In research about the effects of noise, these values are already on the threshold of where noise can lead to health problems, which are hearing damages and stress leading to cardiovascular diseases. These numbers prove the necessity for traffic noise reduction. Besides measures in transport planning, such as speed limits at least at night-time, traffic ban for trucks, etc., noise emission reduction at the vehicle itself, e. g. by using low-noise and fuel-saving tyres, can contribute to environmental protection. Heavy utility vehicles definitely cause more noise; therefore they should be considered as a target for noise reduction. Accepting the challenge Options for fleet operators In order to achieve the targets of the European Air Quality Framework, a wide range of technical and user-related measures are necessary. Fortunately, clean propulsion technologies and fuels for vehicles in vehicle fleets already exist. Fleet operators will play an important role in the implementation of these technologies. Picture: AboutPixel.de 55/62