Sustainability in public procurement

The German state procures goods and services on a large scale every year. The goal it has set itself is for sustainability criteria to play a decisive role in the awarding of contracts so that public procurement can also drive the transformation towards greater sustainability. Currently, however, only 13.7 per cent of contracts at municipal level are awarded on the basis of sustainability criteria - and the trend is downwards! These are the findings of a recent study conducted by the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich on behalf of the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

The state purchases goods and services at all levels for an estimated EUR 350 to 550 billion every year. It therefore not only sets the framework conditions for the economy with laws and funding instruments, but also acts as a market participant itself through public procurement with a large budget that corresponds to up to 15 per cent of Germany's gross domestic product (GDP). Through public procurement, the state can therefore decisively support the sustainability transformation of the economy. Half of all contracts are awarded at municipal level.

Although this potential has been recognised by politicians for two decades and corresponding sustainability targets for public procurement have been defined at various levels, the study shows that there is still a large gap between political ambition (‘intention’) and actual implementation (‘action’). In the period under review from 2011 to 2023, only 17.1 per cent of contracts were awarded by local authorities with sustainability criteria.

Even more astonishing: although sustainability is becoming increasingly important in public discourse, the number of contracts awarded by local authorities under sustainability aspects fell massively from 23.3 per cent to 13.7 per cent between 2012 and 2023.

However, the study not only describes the current situation, but also possible causes for this ‘intention-action gap’ and possible solutions for bridging this gap between political ambition and implementation. You can find out exactly what these are at Sustainability in public procurement (bertelsmann-stiftung.de)

Contact:
Bertelsmann Foundation
Carl-Bertelsmann-Str. 256
Marc Wolinda, Project Manager
Telephone:  +49 (0) 5241 81 81438