News & Press Releases - Fair procurement for the public sector

From the laudable exception to everyday practice: How can we broaden fair public procurement of textiles?

What do we need to ensure that fair public procurement of textiles is implemented across the board in local governments? There are currently pilot practical projects, guidance documents, instructions, Council decisions in various municipalities – the Compass sustainability currently shows 877 examples from 67 municipalities for 12 different product groups. But we are still far from a standard effective inclusion of social and environmental responsibility criteria in the production of the textile products procured. This challenge was met on 26 and 27 October 2018 by the 20 participants of the Intensive training on how to achieve fair public procurement of textiles. Many of the participants had previously attended intensive training courses on FEMNET modules 1-4 for their multiplier work on the topic. However, procurers and other employees from local governments also took part in the initial training.

Procurers must be guided through the procedures step by step so that they can make sustainability-relevant decisions in the right places. To this end, the city administration of Bonn is developing a so-called ‘digital workflow tool’ together with FEMNET under the legal advice of André Siedenberg. The instrument was presented at the training. Susanne Hilsdorf, Public Procurement Officer of the City of Bonn, reported on how they want to use the process tool and what experience they have gained.

In order for a city administration to be implemented in such a concrete way, however, other adjustment screws often have to be turned first. Tim Stoffel explained with the help of the first findings from the research project "Municipalities Promoting and Shaping Sustainable Value Creation (MUPASS) – Public Procurement for Fair and Sustainable Production“ at the German Development Institute, that there is no “one king’s way” to a fair public procurement practice.

In studies carried out by municipalities in the Netherlands, UK, Sweden and South Africa, for example, the researchers have identified 6 fields that are usually involved when procurement procedures are changed. For example, it is not mandatory to look at sensitive products only or first. Manufacturers can also be identified, from which a particularly large amount is purchased and then a structural cooperation with these manufacturers is targeted.

Pioneering companies that implement their human rights due diligence obligations in a particularly exemplary manner and thus serve as an orientation mark for competitors and procurers are also decisive for progress. Nicole Wack from Work and Wear in Saarbrücken reported on the difficulties that professional clothing retailers committed to fair trade encounter in public procurement.

The exchange of experience in the training also shows various success factors: There has been pressure from civil society in Cologne for a long time. The breakthrough, however, was the creation of a post in the administration for the topic – buyers need a contact person in the administration. In the district of Neuss, the Fairtrade Town process offers good tailwind: Civil society and local politics come together. The experience from Bonn shows: Individual offices that precede can make a difference in the administration. Hopes for this are particularly placed in well-implementable instruments – guides often remain too abstract. Initiatives in Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia rely on the exchange and qualification of those responsible: The training offensive of the state government of Baden-Württemberg implements further training close to the local actors. Among other things, the Thuringian Procurement Alliance organises large-scale bidder dialogues on sustainability issues.

With Ann-Kathrin Voge from the Service point Municipalities in the One World (SKEW) we finally discussed the issues raised. The success of the federal administration will also be decisive for the progress in the municipalities – by 2020, 50% of textiles are to be procured according to ecological and social criteria (cf. Federal Government Programme of Measures). A guide and a step-by-step plan will be developed for this purpose. SKEW's advisory and support services are also helpful for municipalities.

In the evaluation, the participants highlighted above all the high added value of the training through the exchange between the different stakeholder groups: Civil society, procurers, coordinators of local development policy, representatives of Transfair e.V., actors from legal and scientific consulting practice, service point for municipalities in the One World, a professional clothing retailer – at the table were not only diverse perspectives, but also experiences from many municipalities throughout Germany.