Europe’s sustainable public procurement data

A research paper by OCP and IISD examines the ability of the European Union's Public Procurement Data Space (PPDS) to track the actual environmental impact of green public procurement (GPP). The authors argue that while current monitoring focuses on intent (whether environmental objectives were declared), it is possible to estimate real-world carbon savings using existing data and spend-based estimation. A pilot study using German data in the construction and vehicle sectors suggests that the potential for emissions reductions is significantly higher than what is currently being achieved through green-tagged contracts.

• Current monitoring of green public procurement (GPP) in the EU, including via the Public Procurement Data Space (PPDS), focuses on institutionalization and outputs—such as whether a contracting authority declared a "reduction of environmental impacts"—rather than actual environmental outcomes like tonnes of CO₂ avoided.
• A pilot analysis using German contract award data from the PPDS and Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) demonstrated that spend-based estimation can be used to estimate carbon savings without creating new reporting burdens, although the lack of detailed quantity and unit data limits precision.
• In the construction works sector, green-tagged procurement saved an estimated 42 million kg of CO₂e; however, applying green criteria to all procurement in the sample could have yielded estimated additional savings of approximately 898 million kg CO₂e, over 21 times the current achievement.
• The analysis of the motor vehicles sector indicated that applying green criteria to the remaining sample (assuming the purchase of battery electric vehicles) would have resulted in additional savings more than five times larger than those from existing green-tagged contracts.
• To improve the analytical power of the PPDS, the authors recommend clarifying the use of environmental objective tags in eForms through binding guidance and making structured reporting of quantities, units, and classification codes mandatory for procedures flagged as environmentally strategic.

APA

Granickas,, U. A. E. (2026). Europe’s sustainable public procurement data. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/europes-sustainable-public-procurement-data

Chicago

Granickas,, Umrbek Allakulov,Sharmila Erizaputri,Karolis. Europe’s sustainable public procurement data. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/europes-sustainable-public-procurement-data.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Granickas, |first1=Umrbek Allakulov,Sharmila Erizaputri,Karolis |title=Europe’s sustainable public procurement data |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=5 May 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/europes-sustainable-public-procurement-data |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{granickas2026europes, author = {Granickas,, Umrbek Allakulov,Sharmila Erizaputri,Karolis}, title = {{Europe’s sustainable public procurement data}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/europes-sustainable-public-procurement-data}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }