The European Commission defines Green Public Procurement as a “process whereby public authorities seek to procure goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout the life cycle when compared to goods, services and works with the same primary function that would otherwise be procured.”

The Government Climate Action Plan has a target for the public sector of 51% reduction in in GHG emissions and 50% improvement in public sector efficiency by 2030.

UL has been incorporating sustainability in its tender process for several years. Examples include cleaning, waste, catering, print and water (reduction of use of single plastics) contracts where scores have been awarded for sustainability elements.

In 2021 the Government issued the Climate Action Plan, and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) issued the EPA Green Public Procurement Guidance for the Public Sector which offers advice on each stage of the procurement process. In 2022 the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) released the GPP Criteria Search Tool. This is an excellent tool to assist in the development of suitable green award criteria, technical specifications and selection criteria by commodity when tendering for goods and services.

The EPA Guidance Document is based on ten criteria sets:

  • Road transport vehicles and services
  • ICT products and services (including data centres)
  • Food and catering services
  • Cleaning products and services
  • Design, construction and management of office buildings
  • Indoor and outdoor lightning
  • Heating equipment (including boilers, cogeneration, trigeneration and heat pumps)
  • Energy-related products (white goods/appliances, electronic displays, vacuum cleaners)
  • Paper products and printing services
  • Textiles products and services (including uniforms and laundry services)

Link to the Government GPP site and link to EPA site:

The OGP Criteria Tool link is: 

In addition to consultation with UL’s Procurement Office, the tool can be used to assist and advise you when determining the specification and award criteria for your specific requirement.

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