Simpler and More Sustainable

The EU's ongoing reform of its public procurement directives presents a unique opportunity to make procurement a more strategic driver of the green transition. Public procurement accounts for about 14% of the EU's GDP and influences 11% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, the uptake of GPP tools, such as eco-labels, environmental management systems, and carbon or life-cycle cost calculators, remains limited. Key barriers for their uptake include perceived legal risks, administrative complexity, cost concerns, and capacity constraints. 

This policy brief outlines the key challenges in using GPP tools and presents real-world examples from across the European Union, including the EU Ecolabel, Environmental Product Declarations in Ireland, the CO₂ Performance Ladder, and Denmark's total cost of ownership calculator. These cases demonstrate how robust and verified tools can help contracting authorities integrate sustainability criteria into tenders while improving transparency, comparability, and value for money. 

The brief highlights how the revised procurement directives could enable wider and more consistent use of such tools by

• clarifying legal provisions to make it easier for procurers to apply environmental and social criteria,
• improving comparability and standardization through shared repositories and clearer procedures for equivalence,
• strengthening professional capacity by embedding sustainability competencies into procurement training frameworks, and
• encouraging market engagement to exchange knowledge and signal demand for sustainable solutions. 

By creating a stronger enabling environment for robust GPP tools, the European Union can make procurement simpler, fairer, and more effective—turning it into a central instrument for achieving Europe’s green, circular, and competitive future.