The role of public procurement in implementing the circular economy in construction

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse how Polish procurers are taking advantage of the opportunities for the development of the circular economy offered by the tools available through public procurement. Appropriate regulations to support the implementation of circular concepts in construction do exist, an example being the regulation governing the determination of life-cycle costs of buildings. However, it is not used by contracting authorities. The reasons for this can probably be found in the range of data that must be prepared in the contract documents in order to correctly calculate the individual values. At the same time, the regulation leaves little room for action by contractors, who can only propose extended guarantee periods and lower energy consumption.