Green public Procurement

tom nerney

Does anybody know what implications would be on the public finances in relation to green public Procurement and also if possible conflicts with existing procurement policies could arrise. I know its a difficult topic for some people to understand but if anyone has any information it would be much appreciated.

Heroditas

Of course there could be implications.
The public sector has to obtain value for money in its procurement. In many cases, this equates to getting the cheapest price. However, purchasing the green option might cost more.
Public bodies now go through the NPS for energy purchasing. They have to get a certain % of green energy. That results in a lower electricity tax (it's not a huge tax but it exists). However, if a premium is put on that green energy, it might end up costing them more than if they were just purchasing 100% brown.

MadsL

I'd be happy if Govt departments just used etendering.

Having hand delivered tenders in the past, considerable fuel is wasted simply delivering documents to some remote Govt office.

Accepting tenders by the electronic postbox should be mandatory for all departments unless there is an exceptional reason.

Not one of the current EPA tenders is being accepted by electronic means.

Heroditas

Public sector tendering in the past has been a lesson in paperwork and requests for reams of seemingly useless information.

gnome19

so the implications to public finances are?? also will Ireland go with this (Green public Procurement) or do they even have an option?

Rafa1977

Heroditas wrote: »

Of course there could be implications.
The public sector has to obtain value for money in its procurement. In many cases, this equates to getting the cheapest price. However, purchasing the green option might cost more.
Public bodies now go through the NPS for energy purchasing. They have to get a certain % of green energy. That results in a lower electricity tax (it's not a huge tax but it exists). However, if a premium is put on that green energy, it might end up costing them more than if they were just purchasing 100% brown.

A lot of tenders go on the MEAT(Most Economically Advantageous Tender) system, so its not always about price.

Macha

Rafa1977 wrote: »

A lot of tenders go on the MEAT(Most Economically Advantageous Tender) system, so its not always about price.

I'd add to that that the most environmentally friendly choice is not always the more expensive one. Sometimes it is a matter of life-cycle perspective: a more efficient heating system may cost more initially but is cheaper in the long-term due to fuel cost savings.