GPP Issue no. 45 October 2014

News-Alert

Engaging with the market is becoming increasingly commonplace with public authorities before they launch a procurement procedure. Market engagement allows a public authority to test and influence potential suppliers in the market. Finding appropriate ways to engage with the market, whilst respecting company confidentiality and ensuring transparency can greatly assist a procurer in knowing what is possible.

At the recent EcoProcura Conference,

the topic of Market Engagement was presented, taking a look at how the EcoQUIP, TRANSFORM and LCB Healthcare projects have engaged the market, and highlighting the advantages for both the public authority and the suppliers of taking this step. David Morgan of Cornwall Council presented how Cornwall has carried out market engagement Using Technology to Engage Suppliers.

Many past GPP examples have also demonstrated the value of market engagement such as the procurement carried out by the Estonian Centre of Registers and Information Systems for Low environmental impact PCs and monitors and the City of Ghent for Office Supplies. During the month of November, the INNOCAT – Procurement of Eco-innovative Catering Project will see market engagement activities take place for both Low Carbon, Energy Efficient Vending Machines and Sustainable School Catering Services.

Using market engagement to drive SPP

How does the EcoEnergy network support members in implementing GPP? As GPP is directly related to optimising the energy efficiency potential in almost all areas of impact of local authorities, it is becoming a central point of interest for EcoEnergy and a crucial area of intervention in terms of positive interactions with the national government.

Tell us more about the GPP pilots for energy efficient renovation: One good example for achieving excellent energy and environmental results is the completion of the “Sun” Daycare Centre in the City of Gabrovo.

How will the implementation of GPP be effectively amplified? EcoEnergy counts on its cooperation with Bizportal1 in order to publish and disseminate best practices and examples through its communication channels - covering the full range of interested parties in Bulgaria, including all municipalities.

How will the new public procurement legislation improve sustainable public procurement in Bulgaria? In order to allow SMEs to be more competitive against larger corporations in the construction and project development sectors, the contracting authority may no longer select an offer based solely on lowest price(s) offered i.e. they must now include quality criteria too1.

To view the interview in full, click here.

Image: Yuri Arcurs / Dreamstime.com

SPP & the new Public Procurement Act in Bulgaria

Cohesion policy provides significant financial support to Member States and regions in order to invest in waste water treatment infrastructures. In the programming period 2007-13, about EUR 14.4 billion were planned to co-fund related projects.. In order to increase the environmental benefits of these infrastructures, GPP criteria on waste water infrastructure have been developed with a specific focus on reducing lifetime operational costs. The EU GPP criteria for Waste Water Infrastructure, developed in 2013, by DG REGIO in cooperation with DG Environment, are now available in 23 languages here.

Zoom in on… GPP criteria for Waste Water Infrastructure

Dr. Dragomir Tzanev manages international projects for EcoEnergy Municipal Energy Efficiency network, supporting Bulgarian local authorities.

Zoom in on… Webinar on GPP in the health care sector

An EU GPP Helpdesk webinar on green public procurement (GPP) in the health care sector will take place on 2 December 2014 at 15.00 (CET). The development of EU GPP criteria for electrical and electronic equipment used in the health care sector will be presented, alongside examples of GPP implementation in public health institutions in Europe. To register for this free webinar, please e-mail gpp-helpdesk@iclei.org

Image: Global Water Partnership / Foter

Image: Mercy Health / Foter

1 How EU directives change the Bulgarian legislation on public procurement. ”Capital” newspaper, 30

July 2014, available at: http://www.capital.bg/biznes/vunshni_analizi/2014/07/30/2353452_kak_

evrodirektivite_promeniat_bulgarskoto/

GPP Issue no. 45 I October 2014News-Alert

Over 5,000 people are employed at the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PBGB), which is the authority responsible for internal security in Estonia. The majority of procurement undertaken for the PBGB, including contracts for cleaning services, is carried out centrally by the organisation’s procurement unit. PBGB’s procurement team demonstrated their commitment to sustainability by including green criteria in the 2014 tender for the provision of cleaning products and services. A thorough background study was carried out beforehand, whereby the procurement team consulted with counterparts, principally the Ministry of Environment, who provided advice on how to green the tender and provided sample criteria. Market consultation was also carried out to see if potential suppliers could fulfill the proposed criteria and to examine the effect that the requirements may have on the cost of the contract.

The criteria included requirements for limiting harmful substances, dosing requirements and waste minimisation. Both the market analysis and final results showed that there are no significant cost implications for a green cleaning service in Estonia. The procurement was divided into three lots according to geographical region, covering 10 locations in total, all of which are relatively small in size. The duration of the contract is two years. The three successful contractors are providing cleaning services to a total of 10 locations using ecolabelled products.

Download the full case study here.

GPP examples

Zoom in on... HAPPI Project releases call for tenderA call for tender was published on 30 September 2014 by the hospital procurement network RESAH, coordinator of the HAPPI project. The project consortium founded a legal entity which tenders on behalf of six purchasing bodies in a cross border joint procurement. The tender is subdivided into six lots covering various healthy ageing solutions. The specifications are available in English, Italian and French, and queries can be posed in any of these languages, however bids must be provided in French only.

More information...

To read more GPP examples, visit the GPP website. Previous News Alerts are available here.

Tipperary Energy Agency was established in 1998 by the Tipperary Local Authorities and LIT Tipperary as an independent social enterprise. The goal of Tipperary Energy Agency is to support sustainable energy use in all sectors by providing a comprehensive range of energy services to achieve this goal. Prior to 2014 Tipperary Energy Agency had successfully improved the energy efficiency of all public buildings in Co. Tipperary on behalf of Tipperary Local Authorities. This was carried out by taking measures such as implementing low energy lighting and replacing old heating boilers with biomass boilers. Tipperary Energy Agency recognised the need to go a step further to improve the energy efficiency of public buildings and launched a restricted procurement procedure for photovoltaic (PV) solar panels for up to 12 public buildings in Co. Tipperary in 2014. Nine buildings now have PV solar panels installed on their roofs. This procurement is the largest project for PV solar panels in Ireland to date and has increased Ireland’s total PV capacity by 44%. This investment in renewable energy results in average savings of 11% on electricity costs for Tipperary County Council for the buildings in question and offsets 91 tonnes of CO² emissions.

Download the full case study here.

Green Cleaning Products and Services

Cyprus Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Nicos Kouyialis hosted the first national GPP Awards last month in Nicosia. It was organised by the Department of Environment, Cyprus Energy Agency and the Treasury of the Public Procurement Authority, within the scope of the Buy Smart+ project.

Public sector procurers were commended on the use of GPP implementation in categories including IT equipment, electrical appliances, lighting, vehicles and construction. Awards were also given for GPP policy approaches.

More information...

Zoom in on… The first GPP Awards in Cyprus

Image: adwriter / Foter

Image: Leonid Mamchenkov / Foter

GPP News-Alert is an initiative of the European Commission, Directorate-General Environment published on a monthly basis.Editor: GPP Helpdesk | Email: gpp@iclei.orgThe articles published in the GPP News-Alert represent the personal views of the contributors and do not necessary reflect those of the European Commission, nor any person acting on its behalf.

Installation of solar photovoltaic panels in public buildings

Image: Tipperary Energy Agency

Image: Mitie Group plc / Foter