Towards mandatory Green Public Procurement (GPP) requirements under the EU Green Deal: reconsidering the role of public procurement as an environmental policy tool

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the inclusion of Green Public Procurement (GPP) requirements in the EU public procurement regime. The debate about moving towards greener public purchasing has been fueled afresh in the wake of the EU Green Deal, which highlights the significance of a public procurement regime in pursuing the existing environmental policy goals at EU level. This is also reflected in other key EU policy documents, such as the Circular Economy Package, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the climate change legislation implementing the Paris Agreement. In this context, this paper aspires to map the intersections between the public spending decisions of contracting authorities and their discretion in inserting environmental considerations through the lens of increasing compliance with the adopted environmental targets.