How Reforming the European Union's Public Procurement Directive Can Help Drive a Green Transition
This policy brief explores how reforming the European Union's (EU's) Public Procurement Directive can help drive the green transition by strengthening green public procurement (GPP). It identifies key challenges, such as fragmented rules, the voluntary nature of GPP, and legal uncertainty, as well as outlines targeted reforms to embed environmental criteria, strengthen market signals, and improve monitoring and accountability across the EU procurement landscape.
Policy Recommendations
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Make GPP mandatory: shift from voluntary to mandatory GPP by setting clear environmental requirements across the EU. This will simplify procedures, reduce legal uncertainty, and create strong market signals to drive investment in sustainable goods and services.
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Strengthen monitoring and accountability: establish robust, harmonized data systems to track GPP implementation and outcomes. Improved monitoring will enhance transparency, support informed policy-making, and ensure public procurement delivers measurable climate and sustainability impacts.
Public procurement represents around 15% of the EU's GDP and accounts for roughly 10% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Reforming the EU Public Procurement Directive is a critical opportunity to align public spending with the EU's climate goals and strengthen competitiveness.
This policy brief examines why the current legal framework from 2014 has not delivered on its promise to mainstream strategic and green purchasing. It identifies three persistent challenges: fragmented legal frameworks, the voluntary nature of GPP, and legal uncertainty. These shortcomings of the current procurement directive hinder the strategic use of procurement to support sustainability objectives.
The brief highlights key opportunities for the upcoming revision of the Public Procurement Directive, including making GPP mandatory, improving harmonization across member states, and enhancing data systems for transparency and accountability. It also emphasizes that procurement reform can enhance EU industrial competitiveness by stimulating green innovation and providing stable demand for sustainable products and services.
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