Status for miljøbevidst indkøbspolitik i kommuner og amter 1997/1998Political pressure for a green procurement policy in local governmentIn 1998, the National Association of Local Authorities in Denmark (NALAD) issued the booklet "Grøn indkøbspolitik i kommunerne" ("Green procurement policy in local government") with a political recommendation to the local authorities to establish a green procurement policy. The background was a status survey from 1997/98, showing that more than 100 local governments either had a green procurement policy or were working on one. Moreover, many administrative units and institutions have, on their own initiative, started making environmentally conscious purchases. The greatest barriers to implementing green procurement are unclear information on products’ environmental properties and price. The willingness to pay more depends on the overall budget. Since the booklet was issued last year, even more local governments have jumped on the green bandwagon. Environment for their money’s worth BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Each year, municipalities and counties procure goods and services for about DKK 57bn and DKK 28bn, respectively. Consequently, which products local governments choose to buy is of great importance. If all local governments systematically include environmental considerations in their purchasing, it will make a difference – both in the form of improved environment and in the form of a strengthened market for green products. In recent years, an increasing number of local governments have worked with green procurement, either as an independent initiative, as part of a local Agenda 21 or as part of energy and environmental management efforts. More and more local governments are aware of the signal value of heading up an active effort to improve the environment and work for sustainable development. The backdrop for embarking on the project was NALAD’s desire to stimulate in particular municipalities’ contribution to environmentally conscious procurement by increasing the political focus on the subject. Questionnaire and interviews THE SURVEY Supported by the Council for recycling and cleaner technology, NALAD carried out a status survey on green procurement in local governments in 1997/98. The survey consisted of a questionnaire, a number of telephone interviews and a few personal interviews. The questionnaire study contained questions on green procurement policy, barriers to green procurement, information and training, organisation of procurement, economy and procurement agreements, and experience with green procurement. The response rate was as high as 89% (245) for the municipalities and 86% (12) for the counties. The questionnaire study was followed up by a number of telephone interviews (25 municipalities and 4 counties) and a few personal interviews. The purpose of the interviews was to clarify the questionnaire subjects and to learn more about experience not disclosed in the questionnaires. The project was monitored by a steering group made up of representatives of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (chairwoman), the Danish Association of County Councils, the City of Copenhagen, the Danish Energy Agency, IKA – the association of public purchasers, MIOS – environmentally friendly procurement in the public sector, the Municipality of Horsens, the Municipality of Jernløse and NALAD. On the basis of the results, a discussion booklet on green procurement policy in local government was prepared, and in mid-1999 a report on "Status for green procurement policy in local government 1997/98" will follow, in which the results will be amplified. Much experience to build on MAIN CONCLUSIONS Local governments have gained much experience with green procurement. After a somewhat hesitant start, a positive trend is emerging. Status at the turn of the year 1997/98 was that:
The wish to reduce environmental impact in institutions and administrative units and a political demonstration of the local government as green/environmentally friendly are the mainsprings of a green procurement policy. An effort for green procurement correlates closely to other environmental efforts. One hundred local authorities and eleven counties have tried their hands at green procurement in administrative units and institutions, for example as part of energy and environmental management efforts. In 149 municipalities and 12 counties, some institutions and administrative units have independently decided to include environmental considerations in connection with procurement. Thus, several examples show that the process of formulating a green procurement policy was started from the bottom, i.e. by the institutions. Local governments have been able to cooperate on green procurement with benefit – both internally within the local government (for example between environmental employees and purchasers) and externally between individual local governments. Cooperation covers the process of preparing and entering into procurement agreements as well as training and policy formulation. The barriers to green procurement were also studied. The greatest barrier is the difficulty of assessing information about products’ environmental properties. Most information is provided by the suppliers selling the products to the local government. Most purchasers have no environmental training, and, in reality, it often boils down to whether the purchaser believes the supplier or not. The second most important barrier to green procurement is price. However, local governments that have already implemented a green procurement policy are not discouraged by the price to the same extent as those that have not yet formulated a procurement policy. The willingness to pay extra for "green" products is limited. The main rule is that as long as an institution can keep its total purchases within its budgetary framework, it is willing to pay a possible surcharge. This means that an additional charge on a product has to be saved on another purchase or, for example, by resource-saving measures. Finally, the lack of supplementary training of purchasers and persons responsible for procurement has been mentioned as a barrier. Professional and political dimensions PROJECT RESULTS The project results can be divided into two categories: the professional results directly ascribable to the project (in particular the status of green procurement) and the derivative results which are, in particular, political ones. As regards the project itself, there are great variations in how local governments have chosen to formulate a green procurement policy. However, a common feature was the fact that only very few worked with documenting their green purchases. Thus, only four municipalities and no counties were able to provide documentation. The arguments for implementing green procurement go from the wish to obtain savings, to the statement that it is part of a local Agenda 21. A change of attitude is also seen – the present attitude is more positive than just a few years ago. Local governments’ environmental requirements In particular, the municipalities set environmental requirements to cleaning products, copy and fax machines, office supplies, paper, and office furniture and equipment. The counties are especially concerned about paper, copy and fax machines and office supplies. Next, with the same amount of "votes", come cleaning products, hospital articles, printed matter and copying services or prints. Both municipalities and counties have chiefly been using product labelling as a tool to assess a product’s environmental impact. Next follow specific environmental requirements to products and environmental labelling. Generally, there was much confidence in both environmental labelling and environmental certification of enterprises. The survey revealed a great need for information about, and training in, green procurement. This applies to persons responsible for purchasing (such as purchase managers) in central organisations and to the persons responsible for purchasing in decentral institutions and administrative units (such as child-care assistants, nurses, teachers and technical service personnel). Political lever The heading of the project was "Campaign for environmentally conscious procurement in local government". Thus, a clear objective of implementing the project was to encourage green procurement politically. In April 1998, NALAD decided to recommend that all local authorities should prepare a green procurement policy and that the green procurement policy should include objectives and criteria for green procurement. Moreover, NALAD recommended that the local authorities should cooperate on performing the task, and that they should see green procurement as part of a general, environmental policy effort. The political proposition was sent to the local authorities together with the discussion booklet "Green procurement policy in local government". The discussion booklet informs local authorities on how to formulate and implement a green procurement policy (see box on the next page). Moreover, the results obtained in the questionnaire study were published, and good advice was given to local authority purchasers about how to embark on the sometimes difficult process of implementing green procurement. The booklet, printed in 2500 copies, was soon sold out and had to be reprinted. In April 1998, NALAD arranged a political conference on procurement policies, including green procurement policies. The object of the conference was to sharpen the focus on the possibilities of a local authority procurement policy and to encourage the debate on green procurement in local government. About 100 politicians, public officers and other interested parties participated in the conference. The coupling of political and practical work in this project has been successful. Precise knowledge about actual conditions in the local authorities has supported political arguments, resulting in greater impact. Ripple effect On the basis of the survey results, the project’s steering group has presented a number of recommendations about how to strengthen future action for green procurement in local governments. The steering group’s recommendations can be studied in a forthcoming report which will be placed on the Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s website. In November 1998, the Minister for Environment and Energy, the Danish Association of County Councils, the City of Copenhagen, the Municipality of Frederiksberg and NALAD made a voluntary agreement on environmental and energy-conscious procurement in local governments. This agreement may be seen as an offshoot of the project’s political element. The survey’s recommendations form part of the work of realising the agreement. Finally, in 1999, the Danish Society for the Conservation of Nature completed a survey on the counties’ green procurement, which documents the positive development. In 1999, eleven counties confirm that they have a green procurement policy. On the basis of inquiries from the municipalities and NALAD’s political activities, the development is expected to have been correspondingly positive in the municipalities. Other sources "Grønne facts om amternes indsats for en bæredygtig udvikling" ("Green facts on the counties’ effort for sustainable development"). Published by the Danish Society for the Conservation of Nature, 1999. Box 1: From theory to practice – implementing a green procurement policy
Project title: Campaign for environmentally conscious procurement in local government Prepared by: The National Association of Local Authorities in Denmark Printed publication: "Grøn indkøbspolitik i kommunerne" ("Green procurement policy in local government"). Booklet. Issued by the National Association of Local Authorities in Denmark and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, 1998. Electronic publication: Status for grøn indkøbspolitik i kommuner og amter 1997/1998 ("Status for green procurement policy in local government 1997/98"). Will be available on the Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s web site mid-1999. Financing: Council for recycling and cleaner technology. Further information: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Cleaner Products Division, tel. +45 32 66 01 00.
The evaluations in the project article are those of the performing institution. They are not necessarily representative of Danish Environmental Protection Agency policy. Printed publications are for sale in Miljøbutikken, Læderstræde 1-3, DK-1201 Copenhagen K,
tel. +45 33 95 40 00, fax +45 33 92 76 90, e-mail butik@mem.dk.
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