GPP Issue no. 99September 2020

News Alert

The Jury of the 2020 Procura+ Awards, which recognise excellence in sustainable public procurement, have selected eight finalists with a strong focus on green and sustainable public procurement. The winners will be announced on October 1st at the Conference “Environmental Aspects in Public Procurement in Europe”, hosted by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the German Environment Agency (UBA) and organised by the Berlin Energy Agency GmbH (BEA). The Conference is dedicated to all questions relating to GPP implementation across Europe, including good practice examples and important policy initiatives.

In 2020, Procura+ Award finalists include circular construction and demolition projects, sustainable ICT equipment, and use of ICT to improve building management efficiency. Some finalists have also used innovation procurement techniques, including pre-commercial procurement and innovation partnerships. The 2020 Procura+ Awards are supported by the Procure2Innovate project.

Read the full story here.

Eight European Cities and Organisations prove excellence in sustainable and innovation procurement

The European Week of Regions and Cities is an annual event showcasing the role of cities and regions in European governance. The 18th edition will take place online from 5th to 22nd October, and includes many procurement related sessions, including on green and socially sustainable procurement, circular economy, and procurement and the Green Deal, as well as sessions on food, infrastructure and mobility. More information

Zoom in on... European Week of Regions and Cities

On 10th November 2020 (11.00-12.00 CET) the European Commission’s GPP Helpdesk for will host a webinar on the the EU GPP criteria for Data centres, server rooms and cloud services. These have been designed to help public authorities reduce the environmental impact of data storage, including equipment choice, energy use, and cooling systems. In addition, the University of Pisa will present the procurement of their Green Data Centre. Register here.

Zoom in on... GPP Helpdesk Webinar on Data Centres

Image: Unsplash / Alex Vasey

Image: Unsplash / Enes Ayhan

Tim van de Laar is a project manager for the Engineering Department of the City of Amsterdam. He has been responsible

for the innovation partnership for quay walls from its beginning in 2017. For the innovation partnership he is leading a project team of young engineers with the ambition to stimulate innovation in the construction industry, by giving more space for market solutions and setting up long term public/private collaborations.

What is the challenge the City of Amsterdam is encountering in terms of quay walls?

The City of Amsterdam is inextricably linked to the water. We have many bridges

and quay walls between our main bodies of water (the canals, the Amstel River and the Ij River), connecting the neighbourhoods and giving the City its character. However, hundreds of bridges and tens of kilometres of quay wall are at the end of their life and in poor condition. Urgent action is needed to keep the city safe, accessible and liveable.

To read the interview in full, click here.

Renovating Amsterdam’s historic quay walls using innovation procurement

Image: Unsplash / Alexander Abero

https://procuraplus.org/awards/https://procuraplus.org/awards/https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/digital-conference-environmental-aspects-in-publichttps://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/digital-conference-environmental-aspects-in-publichttps://www.umweltbundesamt.de/service/glossar/b?tag=BMU#alphabarhttps://www.umweltbundesamt.de/service/glossar/u?tag=UBA#alphabarhttps://www.berliner-e-agentur.de/enhttps://procure2innovate.eu/home/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/news_alert/Issue_99_Article.pdfhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1453_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1453_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1188_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1016_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1016_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1107_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1110_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1125_enhttps://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/1453_enhttps://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/20032020_EU_GPP_criteria_for_data_centres_server_rooms_and cloud_services_SWD_(2020)_55_final.pdfhttps://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/20032020_EU_GPP_criteria_for_data_centres_server_rooms_and cloud_services_SWD_(2020)_55_final.pdfhttps://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/20032020_EU_GPP_criteria_for_data_centres_server_rooms_and cloud_services_SWD_(2020)_55_final.pdfhttps://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3384439036160760846http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/news_alert/Issue_99_Interview.pdf

GPP Issue no. 99 I September 2020News Alert

Zoom in on... European Sustainable Cities and Towns Conference

To read more GPP examples, visit the European Commission’s GPP website. Previous issues of the GPP News Alert are available here.

The GPP News Alert is an initiative of the European Commission, Directorate-General Environment. Editor: EU GPP Helpdesk Email: gpp-helpdesk@iclei.org The articles published in the GPP News Alert represent the personal views of the contributors and do not necessary reflect those of the European Commission, nor any person acting on its behalf.

GPP good practice

Winning the race to reduce packaging in Barcelona(Barcelona, Spain)

Zoom in on... consultations on European Green Deal initiatives

The following four initiatives are currently open for public consultation (with deadlines indicated): Sustainable Products Initiative (2.11.2020); the Substantiating claims on environmental performance of products and businesses (3.12.2020); Consumer policy – strengthening the role of consumers in the green transition (6.10.2020); and, Deforestation and forest degradation – reducing the impact of products placed on the EU market (10.12.2020).

On 30 Sept- 2 Oct, cities and towns across Europe will meet online to share transformational actions for the protection of the planet and life of future generations, including a workshop on socially responsible procurement on the 2nd of October. More information

For over 40 years, the La Mercè Race (Cursa de La Mercè) has been held each September as part of Barcelona’s “La Mercè” festivities. The 10km race is organised by the City of Barcelona, and is one highlight among hundreds of free events celebrating the city and Catalan culture. Before the race, each runner receives a special race t-shirt which they can wear on the day to mark them out as one of the participants.

The race’s organiser, Barcelona Sports Institute (IBE), is committed to reducing the environmental impact of sports events, and it identified waste reduction as a priority in its greening plan for the La Mercè race. It developed an objective, transparent waste reduction criterion, which was easy to evaluate in the procurement process. The winning supplier can deliver t-shirts without plastic bags in reusable crates, which has reduced cardboard waste 75% and avoided 13,000 plastic bags in 2019 alone. The race t-shirts are also certified by MADE IN GREEN OEKO TEX, and are delivered using ECO vehicles.

Download the full case study here.

Image: Pexels / Mentatdgt

Image: Ajuntament de Barcelona

Procuring healthy and sustainable vegetables for Vienna’s nursing homes (Vienna, Austria)

The City of Vienna prepares about 100,000 meals every day for kindergartens, schools, medical and nursing facilities and home delivery for pensioners. In 2019, a new framework contract for the supply and delivery of “earthy vegetables”, referring to vegetables growing directly in or on the soil, was needed to supply city-run nursing homes.

The City wanted to encourage food sustainability along the entire supply chain, from production to delivery. This included requiring the seedlings to be certified as organic, to encourage suppliers to grow young plants in their own nurseries, using renewable energy, asking for producers to only use organic compost as fertiliser, and finally to encourage bidders to reduce packaging and transportation distance as well as to use low emission transport. All bidders were able to fulfil the criteria, and the winning bidder now provides city nursing homes with 100% certified organic produce.

Download the full case study here.

Image: Unsplash / Arnaldo Aldana

Image: Wirtschaftsförderung / Ben van Skyhawk

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/case_group_en.htmhttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/alert_en.htmhttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12567-Sustainable-Products-Initiativehttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12567-Sustainable-Products-Initiativehttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12567-Sustainable-Products-Initiativehttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12511-Environmental-claims-based-on-environmental-footprint-methodshttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12511-Environmental-claims-based-on-environmental-footprint-methodshttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12511-Environmental-claims-based-on-environmental-footprint-methodshttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12467-Empowering-the-consumer-for-the-green-transitionhttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12467-Empowering-the-consumer-for-the-green-transitionhttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12467-Empowering-the-consumer-for-the-green-transitionhttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12467-Empowering-the-consumer-for-the-green-transitionhttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12137-Minimising-the-risk-of-deforestation-and-forest-degradation-associated-with-products-placed-on-the-EU-markethttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12137-Minimising-the-risk-of-deforestation-and-forest-degradation-associated-with-products-placed-on-the-EU-markethttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12137-Minimising-the-risk-of-deforestation-and-forest-degradation-associated-with-products-placed-on-the-EU-markethttps://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12137-Minimising-the-risk-of-deforestation-and-forest-degradation-associated-with-products-placed-on-the-EU-markethttps://conferences.sustainablecities.eu/mannheim-2020/https://www.barcelona.cat/en/https://www.barcelona.cat/en/https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/esports/cahttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/news_alert/Issue_99_Case_Study_186_Barcelona.pdfhttps://www.wien.gv.at/english/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/news_alert/Issue_99_Case_Study_187_Vienna.pdf