Green Public Procurement: Analysis on the Use of Environmental Criteria in Contracts

Increasing environmental concerns regarding the actions and policies of the EU have meant that green aspects have become an important factor in public procurement. Although green purchasing criteria are fostered by many EU level and national action plans, and thus are more often included in calls for tenders, it is not necessarily the case that they are integrated into the final contract clauses. Opportunities for incorporating environmental aspects into contract clauses are important in order to ensure that the environmental criteria of the tender documents are fulfilled by the purchased products and services during the contract period. In this article we examine and analyse environmental criteria in public procurement contracts and calls for tenders, and focus on the relevance of environmental contractual terms, i.e. the existence and applicability of environmental criteria in the procurement contracts. We also discuss the comprehensiveness and enforceability of the drafted terms and conditions in the procurement contracts, highlighting the contract practices that we see as the most functional and practical from the procuring authorities' point of view.