Harnessing Public Procurement for the Green Transition

Ireland

Framework, scope, action-plans

In Ireland, “Green Tenders” (2012) constitutes the National Action Plan on Green Public Procurement (GPP). In addition to that, GPP is also part of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2019 and 2021.

Notably, the Circular 20/2019 “Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement” was developed in response to a GPP action included in the Climate Action Plan 2019. It addresses government Departments, and it represents an important piece of the national policy on GPP.

The Climate Action Charter for Local Authorities acknowledges that local authorities, with the support of Central Government, will implement green public procurement strategy and procedures across all business areas. GPP is also included in the Local Authority sector strategy for delivering on the Climate Action Charter and Climate Action Plan (delivering-effective-climate-action-2030.pdf (lgma.ie).

The Strategic Procurement Advisory Group brings together officials from policy Departments with procurement practitioners to facilitate the process of incorporating social and environmental considerations into public procurement. In 2021, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) jointly formed an Environmental subgroup of that Advisory Group. This subgroup includes representatives from key environmental agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), as well as officials from all the relevant environmental policy units in DECC, including public sector lead in relation to climate action, the circular economy, and the bioeconomy. The group ensures awareness across policy briefs in relation to developments in GPP including in relation to reporting and training.

Implementation

There are no mandatory requirements to use GPP in Ireland, with the exceptions that the Energy Efficiency Regulations require that public bodies only procure equipment or vehicles that are included on the Triple E Register or meet the relevant energy-efficiency criteria, and that the amended Clean and Energy Efficient Road Transport Vehicles Regulations require contracting authorities and contracting entities to take energy and environmental impacts into account when purchasing road transport vehicles. The Circular 20/2019 “instructs Departments to consider including green criteria in public procurement processes in the following circumstances where: clearly defined, quantifiable, verifiable and measurable criteria have been developed by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and are relevant to the specific procurement process; and the cost can be met within a department’s existing budget without impacting on service delivery”. The current Program for Government states that “we will mandate the inclusion of green criteria in all procurements using public funds”.

Green Tenders provides guidance on the definition and use of GPP criteria for certain purchasing categories, at all levels of government: construction, energy, transport, food and catering services, cleaning products and services, paper, uniforms and other textiles, and ICT. These groups were chosen according to proportion of public expenditure, scope for environmental improvement, potential impact on suppliers, potential for setting an example to private or corporate consumers, political sensitivity, existence of relevant and easy-to-use criteria, and market availability and economic efficiency. Green Tenders' target for these sectors is 50% GPP: “Green Tenders adopts the indicative EU political target of 50% of GPP, where GPP means incorporating green criteria into the procurement contract. This target will apply in respect of both the number and the value of public procurement contracts concluded. The focus initially will be on the number, ensuring that as soon as possible, at least half of such contracts will include core GPP criteria – i.e. criteria that are suitable for use by any contracting authority, and address the key environmental impacts. Simultaneously, monitoring of these contracts will also take account of their monetary value, aspiring to meet and exceed 50% of expenditure on public procurement. In the first instance, targets will apply to eight priority product groups”.

Two years after publication of Green Tenders, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Green Public Procurement Guidance for the Public Sector that contained the “Irish GPP criteria” for priority sectors. In 2021, the criteria were updated and expanded to include two more priority sectors: road transport vehicles and services, and indoor and outdoor lighting.

The Irish GPP criteria can be copied and pasted directly into tender documents (although sometimes some minor adjustment may be necessary), and the methods of verification are provided for each criterion. Moreover, technical specifications, selection criteria, award criteria, and contract performance clauses are included, as appropriate for a particular category. The Irish GPP Criteria can be accessed online via GPP Criteria Search (www.gppcriteria.gov.ie). The online search tool facilitates ease of use of the green criteria published by the EPA.

Measurement and impact

In Ireland, contracting authorities report on GPP only at central government. The Circular 20/2019 introduced the requirement for government Departments to report on GPP in their annual reports. Government Departments have included information on GPP in their annual reports from 2020 onwards. Additionally, the EPA has developed a GPP reporting template. For 2020, this monitored total number and value of contracts issued over EUR 25 000 by priority sector, and total number and value of contracts issued over EUR 25 000 by priority sector that have incorporated GPP. The priority sectors were the eight priority sectors defined in Green Tenders. In 2021, government Departments first reported to the EPA on their 2020 GPP. To address the reporting requirements in Circular 20/2019, the EPA developed a GPP reporting template. For 2020, this monitored total number and value of contracts issued over EUR 25 000 by priority sector, and total number and value of contracts issued over EUR 25 000 by priority sector that have incorporated GPP. The priority sectors were the eight priority sectors defined in Green Tenders.

Departments similarly reported to the EPA on their procurement. The EPA has published 3 reports on GPP activity in Government Departments (reference years 2020, 2021 & 2022 (https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring--assessment/circular-economy/green-public-procurement/).

Separately, there is national reporting on waste and on greenhouse gas emissions. Since Climate Action Plan 2021, public bodies report annually on progress to reduce the emissions associated with their energy use. This does not, however, include energy use along the supply chain. Some contracting authorities are monitoring diverse impacts of specific procurements such as emissions reductions or reductions in waste or chemical usage. Contracting authority are not yet aggregating these impacts across procurements, but some local authorities and some third level bodies are showing ambition in monitoring impacts as part of their wider sustainability or climate action strategies.

Recent developments

A public consultation has been launched on the draft Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2027. The final Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan will replace the current national policy “Green Tenders”, which is over ten years old. Some of the key features of the draft include:

• Measures to implement GPP;

• GPP monitoring and reporting;

• GPP training and awareness;

• Further development of national GPP guidance and criteria.