Sustainable Public Procurement in the Sao Paulo State Government: An in-depth case study

The Sao Paulo State Government has integrated sustainability into public procurement through a legal framework, electronic systems, and training for public servants. The program utilizes socio-environmental criteria in specifications and contracts, including a sanctioning regime for non-compliance, though it avoids these criteria during reverse auctions to prevent corruption. The IISD identifies opportunities for further improvement in reporting, accountability, supplier pre-qualification, and inter-governmental information exchange.

• Since 1995, Sao Paulo has worked to improve procurement efficiency and transparency, leading to a legal framework that incorporates socio-environmental concerns and an electronic procurement system. The government established nine criteria for policies, which include transparency, water and energy savings, and the use of technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• The SPP program incorporates socio-environmental criteria into technical specifications and contracts, utilizing labels but not life cycle analyses. In construction, the focus is primarily on timber consumption. To maintain efficiency and prevent corruption, socio-environmental criteria are excluded from the reverse auction process, although a sanctioning regime exists to exclude non-compliant suppliers.
• The IISD identifies several areas for upgrading the SPP program, including reporting, accountability, contract management, and the specification of goods and services. Specific recommendations include measuring the benefits of SPP by evaluating sustainable purchases against total purchase value, granting preferential status to goods with Socio-Environmental labels, and improving information exchange with other states, municipalities, and the Federal Union.

APA

Brauch,, M. D. B. D. (2012). Sustainable Public Procurement in the Sao Paulo State Government: An in-depth case study. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-public-procurement-sao-paulo-state-government-depth-case-study

Chicago

Brauch,, Martin Dietrich Brauch,Martin Dietrich. Sustainable Public Procurement in the Sao Paulo State Government: An in-depth case study. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-public-procurement-sao-paulo-state-government-depth-case-study.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brauch, |first1=Martin Dietrich Brauch,Martin Dietrich |title=Sustainable Public Procurement in the Sao Paulo State Government: An in-depth case study |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=21 July 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-public-procurement-sao-paulo-state-government-depth-case-study |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brauch2012sustainable, author = {Brauch,, Martin Dietrich Brauch,Martin Dietrich}, title = {{Sustainable Public Procurement in the Sao Paulo State Government: An in-depth case study}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/sustainable-public-procurement-sao-paulo-state-government-depth-case-study}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }