How Reforming the European Union’s Public Procurement Directive Can Help Drive a Green Transition

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that the European Union's 2014 Public Procurement Directives have failed to mainstream green public procurement (GPP) due to their voluntary nature, legal fragmentation, and lack of certainty. With the European Commission evaluating the Directives in late 2024, the authors advocate for a shift toward mandatory GPP, better monitoring systems, and the alignment of 'buy European' initiatives with environmental requirements to drive the EU's green transition and enhance global competitiveness.

• The EU public procurement market is a significant driver of economic activity and emissions, representing approximately 15% of the EU's GDP and accounting for about 10% of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• The current legal framework for green public procurement (GPP) is fragmented, as the transposition of EU Directives varies by member state and sectoral legislation—such as rules on energy efficiency, clean vehicles, and packaging waste—is not consistently implemented by procuring authorities.
• The voluntary nature of GPP under the current Directives has led to low adoption rates; in 2023–2024, 60% of procurement contracts were awarded based solely on the lowest price, and only 15% of contracts above EU thresholds integrated environmental criteria.
• Legal uncertainty regarding GPP definitions and the requirement to link environmental criteria only 'directly' to the subject matter of procurement makes authorities reluctant to implement GPP at scale for fear of legal challenges or auditor scrutiny.
• Transitioning from voluntary to mandatory GPP—through targets, minimum environmental performance levels, or 'by default' requirements—could simplify procedures, reduce legal fragmentation, and harmonize practices across EU member states.
• Because EU public procurement is already predominantly local—with 40% of winning bidders in 2021 registered in the same region as the authority and 89% of steel and aluminum sourced within the EU—reform should tie 'buy European' goals to specific environmental requirements to actually reduce emissions.
• The EU lacks comprehensive monitoring and systemic data collection for GPP, which hinders the ability to track progress toward climate goals, prevent greenwashing, and demonstrate the benefits of GPP to taxpayers.

APA

Bechauf, R., Casier, L., & Erizaputri, S. (2025). How Reforming the European Union’s Public Procurement Directive Can Help Drive a Green Transition. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/european-union-green-public-procurement.pdf

Chicago

Bechauf, Ronja, Liesbeth Casier, and Sharmila Erizaputri. How Reforming the European Union’s Public Procurement Directive Can Help Drive a Green Transition. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2025. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/european-union-green-public-procurement.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bechauf |first1=Ronja |last2=Casier |first2=Liesbeth |last3=Erizaputri |first3=Sharmila |title=How Reforming the European Union’s Public Procurement Directive Can Help Drive a Green Transition |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2025 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/european-union-green-public-procurement.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bechauf2025how, author = {Bechauf, Ronja and Casier, Liesbeth and Erizaputri, Sharmila}, title = {{How Reforming the European Union’s Public Procurement Directive Can Help Drive a Green Transition}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/european-union-green-public-procurement.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }