Information service for green public procurement (Informationsdienst für umweltfreundliche Beschaffung)

Published on December 17, 2019

The "Information service for green public procurement" (Informationsdienst für umweltfreundliche Beschaffung) – embedded within the website of the Federal Environment Agency – provides information on how organizations can contribute to environmental protection by procuring environmentally friendly products and services. The web portal contains tender guidance documents as well as guidelines on legal questions concerning the inclusion of environmental criteria in procurement procedures. It also contains the so called "environmental criteria database" ("Datenbank Umweltkriterien") with recommendations for environmentally friendly procurement covering more than 70 product groups. The database was created in 2011 by the initiative "Alliance for Sustainable Procurement" and is updated regularly.

Each year, German contracting authorities purchase products ranging from pencils to city buses that are worth – in total – around €350 billion. This massive purchasing power can potentially be used to reduce environmental pollution, improve environmental product and service range, and promote market launches of innovative eco-friendly products.