Gorane Ibarra, an official at the public company, talked about the 2030 Green Procurement Programme of the Basque Country, which will reduce carbon emissions from product, works and green services purchases and use by 26%. It also told the story of green procurement in the Basque Country as set out in “Green Public Procurement in the Basque Country 2005-2020. A success story”, published by the public company.

The Eurosystem Procurement Coordination Office (EPCO) is the function established by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank to coordinate joint procurement activities for the benefit of central banks of the Eurosystem/European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

During the meeting, Ihobe explained features of the Green Procurement Programme of the Basque Country 2030 and its role in the Basque Country's commitment to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability in the region. The programme is rolled out in five-yearly Action Plans with medium-long term initiatives to achieve the objectives of the Green Procurement Programme of the Basque Country 2030 and to encourage the use of public and private sector procurement as a tool for excellence, coordinated with the market, to develop sustainable and socio-economic development that maximises environmental protection and competitiveness.

The Programme has set itself the target of ensuring that 75% of Basque public sector tenders in certain prioritised categories include environmental criteria. It also expects 150 public and 50 private organisations to make a formal undertaking to do so.

Over the next ten years, the Green Procurement Programme of the Basque Country 2030, will reduce carbon emissions associated with product, works and green services purchases and use by 26%. Likewise, 100% of electricity supplies purchased by member organisations will come from renewable sources, all packaging included in significant amounts in public tenders must be recyclable or reusable, and 95% of construction waste managed by member companies will be reused in some way.

A success story

It also shared the best practices of green procurement in the Basque Country as set out in “Green Public Procurement in the Basque Country 2005-2020. A success story”, published by the public company.

It has been more than twenty years since countries around the world recognised that unsustainable production and consumption patterns were among the main causes of environmental degradation and social injustice. Since that time, the Basque Country has been one of the European territories leading the transition toward sustainable economic and social development, undertaking to include environmental criteria in public procurement processes and in all aspects of strategic planning in a reliable, stable way.

With ambition, specialised technical support and by mobilisation of the agents involved, the Basque Country's green public procurement strategy has positioned itself at the forefront of the most advanced European national and regional governments initiatives in this area. An analysis of the annual results since 2005 shows that green procurement is now well established in the Basque government, accounting for around 24% of all tenders.

Green Public Procurement in the Basque Country 2005-2020. A success story (spanish)

2030 Basque Green Public Procurement and Contracting Programme