Decarbonizing the EU’s road and construction sectors through green public procurement

The document assesses the state of green public procurement (GPP) in Estonia and Poland, highlighting that while both countries recognize the potential for GPP to reduce emissions in road transport and construction, implementation is hindered by a lack of mandatory requirements, insufficient procurer knowledge, and inadequate monitoring. It details national targets, governance structures, and the role of EU directives in shaping procurement practices in both Member States.

• Green public procurement (GPP) can significantly lower emissions in Estonia and Poland, where road transport and construction combined account for nearly 30% of total emissions.
• The adoption of GPP in Estonia and Poland is lower than in other EU Member States due to the absence of mandatory requirements, a lack of expertise among procurers, and concerns regarding the higher cost of green products.
• Estonia has set non-binding GPP targets to increase the share of green procurements from 3% in 2020 to 30% by 2025, and as of 2022, it has made GPP mandatory for four product groups: office paper, cleaning products and services, furniture, and office equipment.
• Poland's State Purchasing Policy 20222025 aims to increase GPP uptake from 1% in 2020 to 7% by 2025 and includes plans to develop a mandatory catalogue of green products and services updated every two years.
• Both countries struggle with insufficient GPP monitoring due to institutional capacity gaps; Estonia's electronic register may undercount GPP by ignoring green technical specifications, while Poland's system lacks rigorous follow-up.
• Poland has introduced a national tool for calculating Life Cycle Costs (LCC) for public buildings, which became effective on 1 January 2022.

APA

Kaaret, K., Piirsalu, E., & Machlowska, M. (2022). Decarbonizing the EU’s road and construction sectors through green public procurement. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/green-public-procurement-estonia-poland.pdf

Chicago

Kaaret, Kaidi, Evelin Piirsalu, and Magdalena Machlowska. Decarbonizing the EU’s road and construction sectors through green public procurement. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/green-public-procurement-estonia-poland.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kaaret |first1=Kaidi |last2=Piirsalu |first2=Evelin |last3=Machlowska |first3=Magdalena |title=Decarbonizing the EU’s road and construction sectors through green public procurement |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/green-public-procurement-estonia-poland.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kaaret2022decarbonizing, author = {Kaaret, Kaidi and Piirsalu, Evelin and Machlowska, Magdalena}, title = {{Decarbonizing the EU’s road and construction sectors through green public procurement}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/green-public-procurement-estonia-poland.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }