Referencing International Standards in Government Procurement

This briefing, produced by the ISEAL Alliance and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), summarizes legal opinions on the ability of governments to reference voluntary international standards, specifically non-product related Process and Production Method (npr PPM) standards such as social and environmental criteria, in government procurement under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

• WTO rules allow governments to reference non-product related Process and Production Method (npr PPM) standards, including social and environmental standards, in laws and practices related to government procurement, contrary to common misconceptions that such references violate WTO rules.
• The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) does not apply to government procurement, as Article 1.4 specifically excludes purchasing specifications prepared by governmental bodies for their own production or consumption requirements.
• The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is a plurilateral agreement applying only to specific signatories, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Aruba (via the Netherlands).
• Under the GPA, technical specifications for procurement—which likely include social and environmental impacts of production—must not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade and should be based on international standards where appropriate.
• The GPA allows contracts to be awarded based on the 'most advantageous' tender, a term that permits the inclusion of social and environmental advantages rather than limiting the decision to economic factors.
• There is no definitive WTO list of recognized standardizing bodies. Recognition is determined de facto by factors such as ISO recognition, inclusion in the World Standards Services Network list, government funding or endorsement, and compliance with TBT Annex 3 Code of Good Practice.
• Governments using international standards for procurement specifications have the flexibility to either adopt a standard in its entirety or define specifications based on only some elements of the standard.

APA

Rogers, M., & Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. (2006). Referencing International Standards in Government Procurement. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_LegalOpinionGPAR052_Jul06.pdf

Chicago

Rogers, Michael, and Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder. Referencing International Standards in Government Procurement. Center for International Environmental Law, 2006. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_LegalOpinionGPAR052_Jul06.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rogers |first1=Michael |last2=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first2=Nathalie |title=Referencing International Standards in Government Procurement |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=July 2006 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_LegalOpinionGPAR052_Jul06.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rogers2006referencing, author = {Rogers, Michael and Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie}, title = {{Referencing International Standards in Government Procurement}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2006}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_LegalOpinionGPAR052_Jul06.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }