This page is part of our Sustainability section.
Green Public Procurement (GPP) is defined as
“a process whereby public authorities seek to procure goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle when compared to goods, services and works with the same primary function that would otherwise be procured” (EU Commission Communication COM-2008-400).
Green public procurement is an important sub-area within sustainability, however sustainability is broader than green public procurement alone.
The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has published the Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published the document Green Procurement Guidance for the Public Sector along with ten criteria sets and these documents are available to view and download from the EPA website.
The Office of Government Procurement’s online GPP Criteria Search tool allows users to rapidly find, select and download GPP criteria relevant to a specific procurement project.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (D/PER) Circular 20/2019 states that, starting with the 2020 Annual Report (the report that will be published in 2021, covering the activities of 2020), each Department must report annually on its green public procurement.
The Environmental Protection Agency, in co-operation with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Office of Government Procurement, has developed a Green Public Procurement (GPP) Monitoring and Reporting Template for Government departments to facilitate reporting on GPP.
Useful Links:
Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027
Green Public Procurement Guidance
EPA Green Public Procurement Monitoring and Reporting