Conceptual framework of environmental criteria of public procurements for federal roadwork

Abstract

Green public procurements are important to reduce the organizations’ environmental impact. This study proposes a conceptual framework for adopting environmental criteria in the public procurement for federal roadworks. Content analysis of 153 bidding terms issued from 2006 to 2021 by the public agency in charge of managing Brazil’s federal road network was conducted. The results were compared to the standard list of criteria for Green Public Procurements defined by the European Union. By identifying and classifying the environmental criteria and by defining their related requirement levels, we were able to assess the level of compliance with the environmental criteria in our sample of bidding terms and propose a framework relating different environmental categories, roadwork classifications, environmental criteria, and their respective indicators. The findings reveal a low level of compliance with environmental criteria in our sample (around 19%), a value below what is found in the European context. Given current challenges in developing sustainable roadworks, the proposed model underscores the need to clearly define environmental criteria in bidding terms to foster both sustainable development and the continuous improvement of roadworks.