Harnessing Public Procurement for the Green Transition

Brazil

Framework, scope, action plans

In Brazil, at the time of the Survey, sustainable national development is addressed by the bidding law 14, 133/2021, which establishes GPP both as a guiding principle and as an objective of all purchasing processes in Brazil, so that public purchases, without distinction, seek to promote positive socioeconomic and environmental impacts. In addition, it provides for environmental sustainability criteria as one of the parameters for defining variable remuneration associated with the contractor's performance. Brazil decided not to have a segregate policy on sustainable purchase so that there is no option to conduct a non-sustainable purchase. Therefore, sustainability in Brazil has been sought in a systemic and integrated manner to all the phases of the procurement process.

However, at the time of the Survey, the entire procurement policy was under review, due to the publication of the new legal framework for bids and contracts (Law 14, 133 of 2021). Due to this new law, the creation of a new legal framework was underway, aiming at regulating and organising the procedures provided for in the new law.

In Brazil, the Inter-ministerial Committee on Climate Change and Green Growth (CIMV) ensures co-ordination and articulation regarding the policies related to climate change, but there is not one single institution formally created to ensure co-ordination between GPP and environmental policies. Co-ordination takes place through different structures, such as the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, depending on who is the author of the bill, and the Executive Office of the President, in the case of a om authored by the President of Brazil.

Implementation

The public procurement framework was under review at the time of the Survey, thus, national goals in relation to GPP were being discussed.

There is a governance instrument whose objective is for each agency or entity of the federal public administration to define its logistics and contracting strategy which is called the Master Plan for Sustainable Logistics, established in 2021. Through this instrument, public institutions must establish objectives and actions referring to criteria and sustainability practices, in the economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions, aimed at:

1. Promoting the rationalisation and conscious consumption of goods and services, ‘

2. Identification of products/services with the lowest environmental impact,

3. Promotion of innovation in the market,

4. Inclusion of impact businesses in public procurement and,

5. Dissemination, awareness and training on sustainable logistics.

Furthermore, the previous law, No8, 666/1993 which was in force until March 2023 defined together with the Decree No 7, 746/2012 some sustainability criteria and practices to be adopted in the bidding instruments for the acquisition of goods, services, and works:

1. Low impact on natural resources such as flora, fauna, air, soil and water,

2. Preference for materials, technologies and raw materials of local origins,

3. Greater efficiency in the use of natural resources, such as water and energy,

4. Greater generation of jobs, preferably hiring local workers,

5. Longer lifespan and lower maintenance cost of the purchased good and the work carried out,

6. Use of innovations that reduce the pressure over the natural resources,

7. Sustainable origin of natural resources used in goods, services and works, and

8. Use of timer and non-timber forest product originated from sustainable forest management or reforestation.

Measurement and impact

At the time of the Survey, public institutions in Brazil were not required and did not report on GPP.

Most recent developments

A new law introducing more sustainable criteria for public tenders was expected to take effect in April but will now be enforced in early 2024. The new law on tendering aims to modernise public procurement processes and places greater emphasis on sustainability criteria in proposals for the purchase of goods, services and public works by government entities. According to the new regulation, Brazil’s sustainable development must be a guiding principle of public procurement.