ECPAR | Espace québécois de concertation sur les pratiques d'approvisionnement responsable

Public contracts

How governments contribute to responsible procurement 

Governments are key stakeholders in responsible procurement. Their purchasing represents a significant portion of the economy (over 20% of the GDP of developed nations on average), and governments constitute powerful levers to stimulate a greener, more social market supply. In addition, government laws, regulations, public policies and programs can help the businesses on the territory build capacities to minimize their environmental impacts and maximize the socioeconomic benefits of their activities.  
In 2003, in its Communication on Integrated Product Policy (IPP), the European Commission urged its member states to draft national action plans (NAPs) to green public procurement. Though not legally binding, the NAPs include an assessment of the situation, define targets and outline measures to reach them. 

A total of 22 EU countries therefore set out sustainable procurement plans (or the equivalent). France, for example, submitted its project—the Plan national d'action pour les marchés publics durables 2014-2020—for consultation in summer 2014. In July 2014, the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) launched a plan for public procurement of food and a balanced scorecard to consider simple criteria such as cost as well as more complex benchmarks such as the sustainability of production processes, health and nutrition, efficient resource use and socioeconomic value. 
 
The recent public procurement Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and Council (February 26, 2014) fosters the strategic use of government contracts to support social objectives, specifically by better taking into account environmental and social criteria. The Commission will develop a working document on the environmental aspects of the reform in early 2015. 
 

In the US, President Obama signed a 2009 executive order that established sustainability objectives for federal organizations whose 
procurement totals over US$500B in goods and services. Under the order, federal agencies must set a 2020 goal to “leverage federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.” In November 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released Draft Guidelines for Product Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Procurement for consultation and later published a revised document, the Revised Guidelines on the Environmental Effectiveness of the Standards (Section II). The next step is a pilot phase, which is slated for 2015. 
Finally, the United Nations Environment Programme released a global platform to promote green procurement: the Global Action for Sustainable Consumption and Production 10YFP Program. The initiative brings together various stakeholders to create synergies and mobilize resources to attain common sustainable procurement objectives. The ECPAR has been a member since 2012. 
 

 

 

 

Measures implemented by the government of Canada 

In 1995, the federal government’s amendments to the Auditor General Act created a legal obligation under which over 25 departments and agencies were to draft, publish and report on their sustainable development strategies. The Federal Sustainable Development Act was passed in 2008. The Act called for the development of a Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) that would be revised at least every three years. In addition, the departments and agencies subject to the Act were to set out sustainable development objectives and an action plan. The first Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS 2010-2013) was tabled in Parliament in October 2010 and updated in 2012 (FSDS 2013-2016). One of the four major themes of the most recent strategy—Shrinking the Environmental Footprint-Beginning with the Government—is focused on procurement. The strategy imposes targets on departments and agencies but does not set out specific expectations in terms of purchasing. 
 
The Policy on Green Procurement, which only applies to the federal government, has been in effect since 2006. Four key departments are targeted for its implementation, including Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), which provides joint services to other federal ministries and carries out most of the federal government’s procurement. PWGSC created and mandated the Office of Greening Government Operations and a green procurement team to establish a series of guides, tools and training programs to support the department and other federal services and agencies in the attainment of their responsible procurement targets. 
Most of these tools have been released to the public:  

Measures implemented by the government of Québec 

The Sustainable Development Act provides a sustainable development framework for government departments and agencies. It sets out 16 principles, including responsible production and consumption. In 2008, in an effort to ensure the coherent application of the Act, the government released the first Stratégie gouvernementale de développement durable 2008-2013, which included directions that organizations subject to the Act were obligated to take into account. Of these directions, the Produire et consommer de façon responsable strategy incited several departments and agencies to develop responsible procurement policies, plans and practices. The government even created the Politique administrative pour un gouvernement écoresponsable, which sets out specific requirements for several product categories.

On December 4, 2014, the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques introduced a draft strategy—the projet de Stratégie gouvernementale de développement durable révisé 2015-2020—based on the results of the 2008–2013 edition. It accounts for the observations and findings of the Rapport sur l’application de la Loi sur le développement durable and the État de situation du développement durable au Québec report for 2006–2013.

In 2015, a parliamentary committee will hold a public consultation on the draft strategy.

The Bureau de coordination du développement durable (BCDD) oversees the initiative and follows up on the actions implemented by departments and agencies.

 

Additional information

SWITCH, l’Alliance pour une économie verte au Québec, which brings together a dozen active sustainable procurement stakeholders including the ECPAR, proposed that the government adopt a responsible purchasing action plan. Focused on the environmental and economic aspects, the first component of the plan is available here. The second, which explores social issues, was released on February 10, 2015.