Check our guides on circular procurement

Public procurement is an essential instrument for achieving social policy goals. There are great opportunities to use public procurement as a strategic tool in the transition to a circular economy.

There are many starting points for relevant circular criteria, such as saving resources by using services, using recycled and recyclable materials, extending the lifespan of products, avoiding substances that are hazardous to the environment and health, choosing products that are easy to disassemble or allow for repair and reuse, or rewarding recycling in waste management.

New challenges may require new procedures

Incorporating all these aspects into a procurement process poses new challenges to the procurement organisation and may require new procedures and acquiring new knowledge.

An ongoing research project on circular procurement processes, a collaboration between IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, the City of Gothenburg, the Gothenburg region and some of its other municipalities, has examined what information on circular procurement and regulations is relevant. The work has been based on the results of analyses from the project's co-creative workshops with municipalities. The workshops focused on developing practical information to explain different concepts and approaches to circular procurement and what to consider regarding regulations.

This has led to the development of two films introducing the circular economy and circular procurement and an in-depth look at IT and electronics. You can watch them here. They are in Swedish, though.