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Environment
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Green Procurement

Simplifying Green Procurement with the EU Ecolabel

Overview

As a procurement officer, your work can be challenging—managing complex requirements, ensuring compliance, and meeting sustainability targets. The EU Ecolabel can simplify your task by offering reliable, science-based solutions that streamline the procurement process while supporting your organisation’s environmental objectives.

Why choose the EU Ecolabel for Green Public Procurement?

  • Simplifies the preparation of calls for competition. Public buyers can indicate in calls that the goods and services procured shall be EU Ecolabel certified. Alternatively, they may define the technical specifications and/or the award criteria in the call for competition by referencing the relevant EU Ecolabel criteria. 
  • Aids in verifying bid content. EU Ecolabel goods and services are already assessed against rigorous environmental requirements and are deemed compliant with the technical specifications and/or the award criteria. This reduces the burden of verification during the evaluation process. 
  • Promotes the use of criteria which are science-based and reliable. The EU Ecolabel criteria are developed through extensive research and stakeholder consultations. They are adopted through a legal act and are updated regularly.  
  • Allows cost-effective solutions. Choosing EU Ecolabel-certified goods and services doesn’t necessarily mean exceeding your budget. These goods and services are often competitively priced compared to their non-labelled counterparts. 
  • Guarantees legislative compatibility. The EU Ecolabel meets the conditions for being used as means of proof outlined in European Union legislation (Article 43 of Directive 2014/24 and Article 61 of Directive 2014/25).  
  • Enhances the environmental credentials of your organisation among stakeholders and the public.

How to get started?

  • Explore certified products: The number of EU Ecolabel goods and services is steadily increasing on the EU market, offering a wide range of options to meet diverse procurement needs. Access the EU Ecolabel Catalogue, to find goods and services of your interest.

  • Inform the market well in advance, providing enough time for companies to obtain a certification for their goods and services if they do not already have one.

  • Request EU Ecolabel goods and services in your call or include EU Ecolabel criteria in your tender documents, in accordance with national legislation adopted pursuant to European Union legislation: Find out the EU Ecolabel requirements for the goods and services of your interest or consult the EU Ecolabel “Practical Guides” which identify the most relevant “ready-to-use" criteria to be used in your call.

  • Leverage support tools: Take advantage of the available guidance and resources to integrate the EU Ecolabel into your procurement: contact your national Green Public Procurement Helpdesk or your EU Ecolabel competent body.

The Practical Guides

“Practical guides for the use of the EU Ecolabel in the green public procurement” developed for specific goods and services help procurers to draw up technical specifications and/or award criteria by identifying “ready-to-use" EU Ecolabel criteria to be incorporated in the calls.

Existing/planned practical guides:

  • Absorbent hygiene products 
  • Graphic paper (to be available in 2025)
  • Hard-covering products 
  • Printed paper, stationery paper and paper carrier bag products (to be available in 2025)
  • Reusable menstrual cups (to be available in 2025)
  • Tissue paper and tissue paper products (to be available in 2025)

Private Procurement

Green procurement offers advantages for actors in the private sector willing to be part of the green transition. It enhances a company's public image by demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, which can attract environmentally conscious customers and investors. Moreover, adopting green procurement practices often leads to cost savings through energy efficiency, waste reduction, and innovative sustainable solutions.