The SPP Regions project, coordinated by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, concluded in March 2018 achieving emissions savings of 394,000 tCO2/year through eco-innovative tenders carried out in the project‘s seven regional sustainable procurement networks.
The carbon savings achieved equate to the emissions of more than 3 trillion kilometres driven by a new car sold in the EU in 2016 - the equivalent of over seven return trips to Mars per year.
The 40 eco-innovative tenders carried out by 31 contracting authorities also achieved primary energy savings of 1425 GWh/year, and are projected to lead to a total of 1015GWh of new renewable energy generating capacity.
Reflecting on the city-regional networking and procurement collaborations conducted in SPP Regions, Project Coordinator Simon Clement of ICLEI‘s Sustainable Economy and Procurement team said:
„The consortium is very proud of the project‘s CO2 savings, primary energy savings and RES generation, made possible in large part by the intensive collaborative networking approach employed by the SPP Regions partners to the eco-innovative public tenders. These impressive environmental outcomes demonstrate that local and regional authorities can punch well above their weight in the fight against climate change through strategic procurement and cooperating with other authorities in their region”.
Beginning in 2015, SPP Regions has promoted the creation and expansion of European regional networks of municipalities working together on sustainable public procurement (SPP) and public procurement of innovation (PPI). The project used an emissions calculation methodology developed by the GPP2020 project, also coordinated by ICLEI, which ended in 2016.
Starting with three established European regional networks - APE Torino (Italy), Réseau Grand Ouest (France), and Barcelona‘s Network of Cities and Towns for Sustainability (Spain) - the project created four new sustainable procurement networks in Bulgaria, Copenhagen (Denmark), Rotterdam-den Haag (Netherlands) and South West England (UK). These networks implemented the project‘s 39 eco-innovative tenders, which were focused on four areas of public spend - passive building construction, green electricity (with additionality), food and catering, and procurement of low-emissions vehicles. Additionally, the project has contributed to the creation of nine new networks where the project‘s results can be replicated.
The project has also produced in-depth practical guidance for public authorities on several key aspects of sustainable public procurement, including Life Cycle Costing, Circular Procurement, Performance / Output Based Specifications, and Market Engagement. These resources, as well as a full list of tender models and a series of ‚how-to‘ videos on the implementation of various sustainable procurement practices, are available to download on the project website.