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

The Sao Paulo State Government has integrated sustainability into its public procurement through the Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) Program, utilizing electronic tools like the BEC/SP and the Socio-Environmental Label to influence the purchase of goods and services. The program emphasizes the internal preparatory phase of procurement, incorporating socio-environmental criteria into technical specifications and catalogs. While the state has achieved significant economic savings through electronic reverse auctions and increased the use of sustainable goods, challenges remain in contract monitoring, life cycle analysis, and the integration of construction works into the SPP framework.

• The Sao Paulo State Government manages a substantial annual procurement budget of approximately USD 12 billion for goods, services, and construction works, positioning it as a major consumer capable of driving sustainable development.
• The SPP Program focuses primarily on the internal or preparatory phase of procurement by integrating socio-environmental criteria into technical specification templates and catalogs, rather than the external evaluation phase, to avoid subjectivity and corruption.
• The Socio-Environmental Label is used to identify goods in the BEC/SP catalog with sustainability advantages; as of the study period, 462 goods were recommended by this label, though the process does not currently employ a full technical life cycle analysis.
• The state utilizes the Cadterc registry and associated studies to standardize service contracts, incorporating environmental parameters such as water and energy savings, noise pollution control, and the use of less polluting fuels.
• Electronic reverse auctions have significantly reduced procurement costs, with total accumulated savings of nearly BRL 3 billion in nominal values, averaging a 19.85% reduction relative to reference prices between 2003 and 2011.
• Sabesp, a mixed-capital sanitation company, employs a pre-qualification process for strategic goods to ensure supplier quality and sustainability, and has expanded its requirements to prohibit slave labor across the entire supply chain.
• The State Policy on Climate Change (PEMC) sets a target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels, utilizing SPP as a tool to readjust the government's purchasing power to meet this goal.
• Education and awareness are addressed through a distance-learning course on SPP provided by Fundap, which used a Virtual Learning Community (VLC) to facilitate interaction among 2,600 public servants.
• A significant gap exists in the SPP Program regarding construction works and engineering services due to technical complexity; the state is addressing this by developing the State Program of Sustainable Construction (PECCS).

APA

Brauch, M. 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/system/files/publications/spp_sao_paulo.pdf

Chicago

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/system/files/publications/spp_sao_paulo.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brauch |first1=Martin Dietrich |title=Sustainable Public Procurement in the Sao Paulo State Government: An in-depth case study |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=July 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/spp_sao_paulo.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brauch2012sustainable, author = {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/system/files/publications/spp_sao_paulo.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }