News & Press Releases - Fair procurement for the public sector

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Procurement transformation package: FEMNET participates in the consultation process

FEMNET welcomes the Federal Government's plan to strengthen environmental and climate friendliness as well as the social sustainability of public procurement. In a 12-page opinion as part of the public consultation process, we identify concrete opportunities for improvement.

A sustainability-oriented procurement transformation is a long overdue step. As early as 2011, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights stressed the special duty of states to protect themselves when they are involved in economic activities, such as public procurement. In addition, with its huge procurement volume, the public sector has a central lever to contribute to environmental and climate protection as well as an improvement of living conditions in global supply chains. These must be used extensively.

FEMNET uses the experience gained over more than seven years of consulting work on fair public procurement to make clear demands in the public consultation of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) on the procurement transformation package. The key objective of the public procurement transformation must be to combine environmental and climate-related sustainability with social sustainability and human rights (such as gender equality) while keeping an eye on the entire value chain. Sustainability must not be reduced to CO2 savings.

FEMNET has also contributed to the opinion of the CorA Corporate Responsibility Network.

A separate statement from the FEMNET-supported initiative “Active for sustainable public procurement“ in particular highlights environmental and climate aspects.

As experience shows, only binding requirements mean that companies fully respect environmental protection and human rights and that pioneers do not suffer competitive disadvantages. These must be formulated for all award levels and enshrined in law. In addition, handouts and tools should be standardised and procurers should be provided with sufficient resources and training.

All statements will soon be online at the Website of the BMWK available.

If you already want to read in, you will find at CorA the Joint Opinion of the Network.