Publications & tools

Guidance document

Buying Green! A handbook on green public procurement

The Buying Green! handbook was developed by ICLEI with support from Public Procurement Analysis (PPA).  Published in 2016, it is the European Commission's main guidance document to help public authorities buy goods and services with a lower environmental impact. It is also a useful reference for policy makers and companies responding to green tenders.

The third edition of the Handbook includes:

  • Guidance on how environmental considerations can be included at each stage of the procurement process in the current EU legal framework (adopted in 2014)
  • Practical examples drawn from contracting authorities across EU Member States
  • Sector specific GPP approaches for buildings, food and catering services, road transport vehicles and energy-using products.

The Buying Green! handbook is available in all official languages of the European Union.

English, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish

2016