Procuring sustainable transport solutions
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sounded the alarm recently when it reported that global warming is “more likely than not” to reach a 1.5oC rise since pre-industrial times and that a lack of political commitment was a key barrier to progress in what is a “rapidly closing window”.
Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2023 sets an objective of achieving a 51 per cent reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and setting the country on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050. CAP23 is replete with ambitious statements highlighting the need for the public sector to lead the way through the implementation of green public procurement. However, it is fair to question whether this is translating into the type of urgent action on the ground that the UN is pleading for.
The use of public procurement as a tool for driving sustainability is not new. For years the law has recognised that public procurement can be legitimately used for these purposes; in recent times, legislation has become more explicit in this regard. There is now a clear and unequivocal legal basis for the use of ‘green’ selection and award criteria, as well as the assessment of life cycle costs in public tendering procedures. Sustainability can also be reflected in technical specifications and contract performance clauses.
In Ireland, public procurement accounts for 16 per cent of GDP and Government sector purchasing is valued at €21.9 billion annually. Under the National Development Plan, the Government will spend €165 billion between 2021 and 2030, of which at least €35 billion will be invested in transport (a sector which accounts for 18 per cent of our carbon emissions). It should be incumbent upon every public body charged with the procurement of transport-related services, supplies, or construction projects to ensure that it leverages its spending power to expedite the transition to decarbonisation and promote sustainable development goals.
Although it has been lawful to do so for many years, the reality is that many public bodies do not regularly incorporate green or sustainable criteria into their evaluation methodologies, thereby missing a critical opportunity to incentivise the development and implementation of sustainable products, services, and work practices which will have a reduced impact on our environment.
Circular 20/2019 instructed government departments “to consider” including green criteria in public procurement, provided they are relevant and subject to budgetary considerations. The current Programme for Government includes a number of commitments including plans to mandate the inclusion of ‘green’ criteria by end of 2023. However, considering the scale and urgency of the crisis we are facing, the lack of urgency inherent in these pronouncements has been disappointing.
In March 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency published its second report on Green Public Procurement (GPP) implementation by government departments. The EPA found that in 2021, green criteria were used to procure contracts with a total value of €55 million; this represented an average of just 10 per cent of the total spend on the contracts assessed (down from 17 per cent in 2020). Of the total number of procurement contracts valued at €25,000 or more which were signed in 2021, 24 per cent were reported to have incorporated GPP (down from 26 per cent in 2020). The low and disimproving levels of GPP implementation among government departments combined with the finding that 10 departments have no GPP policy or strategy in place should be a matter of serious concern.
Leaders in every public sector body, including those engaged in procuring transport solutions, should be urgently assessing what more they can do to maximise the opportunities afforded by public procurement to reduce the environmental impact of their activity.
Ireland’s largest international law firm, Eversheds Sutherland, has a leading transport practice, advising public authorities and contractors on projects locally and across the globe.
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