Sustainable public procurement – from rhetoric to practice

A new report from Sweden, Sustainable public procurement – from rhetoric to practice, takes a closer look at sustainable purchasing in the public sector and examines some common myths associated with including sustainability factors in the process. Deficiencies are identified in current legislation aimed at encouraging greater focus on sustainability factors in purchasing contracts. The study concludes that there is a need for tighter legislation, but also for buyers to take a greater responsibility at the grass roots level, by making more use of tools, such as third party certifications, available to them today.