Harnessing Public Procurement for the Green Transition

Estonia

Framework, scope, action-plans

In Estonia, the National Strategy “Estonia 2035” (adopted in 2021) and the Action Plan “Estonia 2035” (adopted in 2022) promote sustainability, and flexible and value-based public procurement, including the prioritisation of environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and innovative services and construction works.

Moreover, Estonia has developed a handbook for Green Public Procurement, and it has published a White Book of Circular Economy, at the end of July 2022. The White Book includes 4 main indicators relating to circular economy:

1. Strong reduction of the total emission of greenhouse gases;

2. Maintaining or improving Estonia's position in achieving global sustainable development goals in the comparative ranking;

3. A strong increase in the amount of circulating material;

4. Valuing resources, i.e. increasing resource productivity.

The Ministry of Environment (currently the Ministry of Climate) has also worked on the development of circular economy indicators (2019) and mapped the current situation of circular economy in Estonia (2020-2021). In the coming years, there are plans to develop a circular economy action plan.

Implementation

Since 1 January 2022, Green Public Procurement is mandatory (Regulation No.35) at national level for 4 product groups: copying and graphic paper, cleaning products and services, office IT equipment and furniture. The regulation is applicable to all public sector and utilities’ sector public procurement practitioners.

The green requirements developed for these four procurement categories are based on the EU GPP criteria – adapted to the Estonian context. During the summer 2022, the criteria in the e-public procurement register have been updated and guidance material1 for the implementation of Regulation No. 35 was issued.

The requirements for green public procurements apply from the simplified procurement threshold (EUR 30 000 for goods, services, and works).

Measurement and impact

In Estonia, contracting authorities report through a digital platform linked to the e-Procurement system - through the public procurement register (owned by the state). There is one central procurement register - e-Public Procurement Register.

For Green Public Procurement, targets in terms of percentage of number of all procurements (see Table ‎6.1), as well as percentage of total procurement values are defined in different years (see Table ‎6.2). To measure achievement and progress, GPP is periodically monitored through the official electronic public procurement website (E-Procurement Estonia).

Table ‎6.1. GPP as % of number of all procurements

Year	Target
2020	4.5%
2021	5.5%
2022	6.9%
2025	9%
2035	20%

Source: information provided by Estonia

Table ‎6.2. GPP as % of total public procurement cost

Year	Target
2020	15.7%
2021	13.3%
2022	16.24%
2025	25%
2035	30%

Source: information provided by Estonia.

Recent developments

On 16 November 2023, the Government of Estonia adopted the Strategic Principles for Public Procurement:

1. Socially responsible;

2. Innovative;

3. Environmentally friendly (GPP);

4. Reasonable and reliable;

5. Resilient by reducing security risks.

The Ministry of Climate and the Ministry of Finance are responsible for promoting GPP and work closely together on these issues. Moreover, in 2024, the Ministry of Climate and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication, in collaboration with Ministry of Finance, will develop an Action for promoting strategic procurement in Estonia. The Ministry of Finance and the OECD are also actively co-operating through TSI Project on the professionalisation of public procurement personnel to support the wider uptake of strategic procurement.

The Ministry of Climate is now analysing 2 new categories of products to develop mandatory green criteria, which are planned to be adopted in the first half of 2024:

• Road lighting and traffic signals;

• Imaging Equipment, Consumables, and Print services.

Moreover, on 24 February 2023, the Regulation No. 6 on Clean Vehicles (CVD 1161) was adopted and applies to all contracting authorities.

In the public procurement register, the following developments are taking place:

• Monitoring system of clean vehicles through e-forms;

• Introduction of the classification of public procurement and its transfer to the e-procurement form;

• Introduction of the new use of the new procurement rules and the introduction of the new use of the register of environmental conditions;

• Possibility to add environmental clauses to selection criteria, contract terms, technical specification, evaluation criteria (currently only as compliance criteria).

• There is now a clear separation between mandatory environmental criteria and selection criteria.

New categories are also being analysed for the mandatory use of GPP and for the development of guidance material for its implementation.

• Textile products and services;

• Design, construction and management of office buildings;

• Design, construction and maintenance of roads;

• Food products, services and vending machines;

• Electricity.

Concerning training and capacity-building for contracting authorities, the following activities are taking place:

• Regular trainings for public procurement practitioners and tenderers;

• Circular Economy Training for Public Sector Staff - module IV: Green Public Procurement;

• Guidance materials and case studies;

• The Ministry of Finance leads the Value-Based Procurement Task Force and Steering Group, which combines Green Public Procurement, Innovative Procurement, and Socially Responsible Procurement.

Moreover, educational videos have been developed and made accessible for public procurement practitioners: "Environmentally friendly IT procurement in the public procurement register", "Environmentally friendly procurement of cleaning services in the public procurement register" and "Environmentally friendly procurement of furniture in the public procurement register".