Public Procurement for Low Carbon Innovations

Public procurement is widely recognised as a strategic policy instrument for promoting innovation and advancing sustainability goals. This study identifies the key success factors that enable public procurement to support low-carbon innovation, focusing on the procedural and organisational dimensions of procurement implementation. The research combines a survey of 64 large Swedish municipalities with a multiple-case study of six municipalities recognised as leaders in innovation procurement. The findings show that successful municipalities strengthen their procurement capabilities by integrating procurement into strategic planning, developing specialised competencies for innovation procurement, and fostering collaborative supplier relationships. These organisational and procedural capabilities enhance the ability of public procurement to stimulate and adopt low-carbon innovations. The study contributes to the public procurement for innovation research by identifying practices associated with successful implementation and offers practical guidance for procurement professionals, public managers, and policymakers seeking to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.