Green Public Procurement (GPP)

Green Public Procurement (GPP) is the practice by which public authorities buy goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact across their whole life cycle, rather than choosing only on price. Because governments are among the largest buyers in the economy, GPP is a powerful lever to pull markets towards cleaner products and to help meet climate and circular economy goals.

What is Green Public Procurement?

Also called sustainable procurement, GPP integrates environmental considerations into purchasing decisions alongside price and quality. The aim is to minimise the environmental impact of a product or service from production to end of life, drawing on tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA). For example, a public body renewing its fleet may require electric or low-emission vehicles, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging cleaner technology.

Key elements

• Environmental criteria: requirements on energy efficiency, emission reduction, recycled content, durability and recyclability.
• Life cycle thinking: assessing the total impact of a product, not just its purchase price.
• Award rules: translating sustainability into selection and award criteria within the tender, so that greener offers score better.

From voluntary to mandatory in the EU

For years EU GPP relied mainly on voluntary criteria published by the European Commission for different product groups. That is changing. Driven by the European Green Deal and the Clean Industrial Deal, the EU is making green criteria mandatory in strategic sectors. The Net-Zero Industry Act already requires contracting authorities to apply sustainability and resilience criteria when procuring net-zero technologies, and during 2026 the Commission is revising the wider public procurement framework to embed sustainability, resilience and European-preference criteria more broadly. New implementing rules adopted in 2026 set minimum criteria such as carbon footprint, durability, recyclability and energy efficiency for certain clean-technology purchases.

How it is implemented

Applying GPP in a tender typically involves:

• Defining the relevant environmental criteria for the product or service.
• Using life cycle information to compare options fairly.
• Writing the requirements explicitly into the tender documents (as technical specifications, selection criteria or award criteria).
• Evaluating and awarding based on how well bids meet those sustainability requirements.

Why it matters for companies

For suppliers, GPP is increasingly a condition for access to public contracts. Being able to document a credible carbon footprint, an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) or a recognised eco-label can be the difference between winning and losing a bid. In Spain, instruments such as the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) reinforce this direction.

At Manglai we help companies measure and reduce their carbon footprint and prepare the environmental evidence that green public tenders increasingly demand. Discover how Manglai can help you.