‘Life-cycle characteristics’ explained

The briefing proposes the concept of 'life-cycle characteristics' to allow public procurement authorities to legally account for non-physical product attributes, such as fair trade or sustainable sourcing, during the bidding process. It argues that the European Commission's current proposal is insufficient to eliminate legal uncertainty regarding whether social factors and specific production processes can be used as technical specifications. Drawing on case law like the North Holland case, the document asserts that social and environmental impacts should be treated equally and linked to the subject matter of the contract across all stages of a product's life cycle.

• The term 'life-cycle characteristics' is proposed to describe product attributes resulting from social and environmental impacts during production or disposal that are not physically visible in the final product.
• ClientEarth contends that the European Commission's proposal for the revised Directive is insufficient because its wording on 'a specific process of production' leaves legal uncertainty regarding whether fair trade transactions or general objectives like greenhouse gas emission reductions qualify as a 'process'.
• While the North Holland case established that award criteria can be based on social considerations, the Court rejected the use of social factors as technical specifications, which ClientEarth argues is an unjustifiable distinction.
• For 'life-cycle characteristics' to be valid in procurement, they must be linked to the subject matter and comply with principles of transparency and non-discrimination to prevent procurement from becoming a 'back door' for unrelated requirements.

APA

ClientEarth (2012). ‘Life-cycle characteristics’ explained. https://www.clientearth.org/media/4gbdwiut/life-cycle-characteristics-explained-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. ‘Life-cycle characteristics’ explained. 2012. https://www.clientearth.org/media/4gbdwiut/life-cycle-characteristics-explained-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=‘Life-cycle characteristics’ explained |date=June 2012 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/4gbdwiut/life-cycle-characteristics-explained-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2012lifecycle, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{‘Life-cycle characteristics’ explained}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2012}, month = jun, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/4gbdwiut/life-cycle-characteristics-explained-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }