Harnessing Public Procurement for the Green Transition

Bulgaria

Framework, scope, action plans

At the time of the Survey (2022), the Draft Decision of the Council of Ministers on the adoption of the Strategy and Action Plan for the transition to a circular economy of the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2022-2027 was under public consultation (July-August 2022). In its response to the Survey, Bulgaria indicated to have already set up the National Waste Management Plan (NWMP) for the period 2021-2028 as well as the Integrated Plan in the field of energy and climate for the period 2021-2028.

The NWMP plays a key role in ensuring the efficient and effective management of waste in the Republic of Bulgaria. The plan aims at reducing the harmful effects of waste on the environment and on people’s health, as well as to achieve the most efficient use of resources, open new markets and create new jobs. An important part of the Plan is to promote waste prevention.

In Bulgaria, public procurement is recognised as an important tool to promote the transition to a circular economy. Notably, the country often mentions public procurement in its national climate commitments. For instance, the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan to 2030 includes a recommendation for the wider use of green public procurement. Furthermore, the National Waste Management Plan 2021 - 2028 sets out the requirements to include a specific percentage of recycled construction materials in the construction/rehabilitation of buildings and roads.

To support the co-ordination between environmental and GPP policies and objectives, Bulgaria has established an inter-ministerial group that has started working and developing key documents. Draft documents are then published on the Strategy Portal for 30 days for public consultation.

Implementation

In Bulgaria, the Law on Clean Vehicles sets out the mandatory requirement to include energy efficient criteria in the procurement of vehicles.

Moreover, under the Project "Methodological Support for the Development of Green Public Procurement in Bulgaria" - which has been implemented by the Public Procurement Agency with the financial support of the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme -, a survey of the national market has been carried out. As a result, 12 product groups have been selected for the development of green criteria, based on the green criteria developed by the European Commission. Their application is voluntary. To facilitate their use, EU and national best practices are included in the GPP practical handbook for each of the product groups.

Measurement and impact

In Bulgaria, there is a dedicated section in the national standard form, which is obligatory for all contracting authorities. The dedicated field in the form has to be checked by the contracting authority/ entity if the launched procurement contains green criteria (under the discretion of the CA/CE). The above standards forms are published in the Public Procurement Register. According to the data provided, the number and value of GPP contracts can be estimated.

Recent developments

The Strategy and Action Plan for the transition to a circular economy for the period 2022–2027 were adopted by the Decision No. 832 of the Council of Ministers of 26 October 2022.The Strategy recognises the role of GPP to promote the purchasing of green products in the public sector. Most relevantly, the Strategy introduces the concept of "green" procurement in the provisions additional to the Public Procurement Act, therefore providing a clear opportunity for contracting entities to adopt GPP. Moreover, the Strategy includes the periodic revision and update of the Practical Guide for the award of Green Public Procurement, as well as training and capacity-building for municipalities. Training and capacity-building will support municipalities to set targets for the use of green criteria in municipal integrated plans for development, as well as in annual procurement plans.

Moreover, in November 2023, the Council of Ministers adopted the National Environment Strategy 2021 – 2030 (Decision No 765 of the Council of Ministers of 02.11.2023) that includes a specific target (specific target 3) “capacity building for environmental management”, which aims at providing opportunities for continuing education and increasing expertise in environmental fields across different institutions, as well as capacity for integrated planning and implementation of GPP.

Recent amendments to the national public procurement law (State Gazette №88, 20.10.2023) have also introduced the obligation to apply environmental requirements for certain products or services. The specific products, the minimum mandatory environmental requirements, as well as the way to heir demonstration shall be determined by means of a Regulation (currently under development), issued by the Minister for the Environment and Water, in conjunction with the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Economic Affairs and Industry. In addition to that, the law provides a definition for the term “Environmental Requirement”.