Proposal demanded for a harmonized food labeling law among Member States, as requested by the Commission.
In Germany, the annual volume of public procurement stands at a staggering 500 billion Euros. Amidst calls for accelerating this process, the Bundesverband Nachhaltige Wirtschaft e.V. (BNW), an independent business association advocating for environmental, climate, and social sustainability, has expressed concerns over the removal of §120a GWB from a draft law aimed at expediting public procurement.
The BNW, with over 700 member companies and representing over 200,000 jobs, emphasizes that the speed in procurement must be balanced with future-proof, efficient, and circular practices. Prof. Dr. Katharina Reuter, CEO of the BNW, has stated that the government must ensure that the speed in procurement does not compromise the leading markets for innovative and climate-friendly products.
The BNW supports the federal government's plan to integrate the SME sector and regional companies into procurement and make the process faster, more digital, and more flexible. However, they stress the need for uniform standards for sustainable public procurement across all administrative levels, including the implementation of regulations from the General Administrative Regulation for the Procurement of Climate-Friendly Services (AVV Klima).
The BNW also encourages the use of standardized and simple labels for circular materials, products, and business models, but these labels should be accessible to start-ups, regional companies, and the SME sector. They believe that a culture prioritizing sustainable, qualitative procurement should be created at management level, and training should be provided to officials responsible for the awarding process.
The National Circular Economy Strategy foresees an audit mandate for the inclusion of lifecycle costs in determining the most economical offer. The administration should consider sustainability criteria and lifecycle costs in the awarding process to save money in the long run.
The government's current stance supports the inclusion of sustainability criteria and lifecycle costs in public procurement but with notable limitations, as reflected in recent legislative developments. The government is advancing a new public procurement law aiming to simplify and speed up procedures while embedding climate-friendly approaches, such as establishing lead markets for sustainable products through future ordinances.
However, recent reports indicate that the government has decided against fully introducing legally binding climate-neutral lead markets in the current legislative process, which some experts view as a missed opportunity for stronger climate action via procurement. Regarding §120a GWB, the draft of the traffic light coalition plans to remove the proposed amendment, which would deprive civil servants of the legal basis for a procurement culture oriented towards sustainable procurement.
For more information about the BNW, its mission, and the full statement, please visit their website. The Competence Center for Sustainable Procurement, the Federal Academy for Public Administration, and the Competence Center for Innovative Procurement should be more strongly involved in these developments, according to the BNW.
- In Germany, the BNW, an independent business association advocating for sustainability, has expressed concerns about the removal of a section from a draft law aimed at accelerating public procurement, worth 500 billion Euros annually.
- The BNW, with over 700 member companies and representing over 200,000 jobs, urges for a balanced approach to procurement speed and sustainable, efficient, and circular practices.
- Prof. Dr. Katharina Reuter, CEO of the BNW, stresses that the government should not compromise leading markets for innovative and climate-friendly products in the rush to expedite public procurement.
- The BNW supports the federal government's plan to integrate SMEs and regional companies into procurement but emphasizes the need for uniform standards for sustainable public procurement across all levels.
- The BNW encourages the use of simple labels for circular materials, products, and business models to facilitate their inclusion in procurement, especially for start-ups, regional companies, and the SME sector.
- The National Circular Economy Strategy proposes to audit the inclusion of lifecycle costs in determining the most economical offer, promoting sustainability criteria and long-term cost savings in the awarding process.
- The government's current stance supports the inclusion of sustainability criteria and lifecycle costs in public procurement, but some experts view recent legislative developments as a missed opportunity for stronger climate action via procurement, as the proposed legally binding climate-neutral lead markets have been withdrawn from the current legislative process.
