Green public procurements will be mandatory from January 1st, 2024, and the purchasers for certain categories will no longer be able to use only the price as a criterion when awarding procurement contracts, but about 20 percent of the office materials will have to comply with environmental standards, it was said on press conference on amendments to the Law on Public Procurement.
Director of the Institute for Economics and Law, Miloš Knežević, said at the conference organized by the National Alliance for Local Economic Development that out of 23 procurement items that were analyzed before the changes to the law, in 13 cases it is possible to prescribe the mandatory application of green criteria, without restricting competition on the market.
“The proposal is to apply green public procurement, to begin with, to items such as photocopier paper, sanitary ware, printers, scanners, sanitary equipment, paper ware, cleaning products, tires, furniture, paints and varnishes, air conditioners, laptops and white goods,” explained Knežević.
According to his words, for those ordering services, this implies a more thorough preparation of the procurement process, a detailed analysis of market conditions and knowledge of the specifications of the procurement items from the point of view of sustainability and the effect that the ordered products have on the environment.
“On the other hand, as part of the tender documentation, from January 1st, bidders will submit certificates of compliance with environmental protection standards, such as the eco label and other certificates,” emphasized Knežević.
Specialist for public procurements Specialist for public procurements Radmila Cveticanin said that the majority of customers already use environmentally friendly items, without even realizing it, so for most companies it will not be a big change.
She explained that until now, the Law left the opportunity for the contracting authorities to use quality criteria, but did not oblige them to do so.
“According to the official report, although the trend of using environmental standards has slightly improved, only 0.44 percent of the total number of procurements carried out in 2022 was green, and the lowest price was the only criterion for awarding 96 percent of the contracts, and because of this, the need to additional green measures,” said Cveticanin.
This change is in line with the best practices of the European Union, explained Cveticanin, pointing out that the survey conducted by NALED showed that 69 percent of citizens believe that in public procurement quality should be prioritized over price, and they see sectors as a priority for investment health, education, environment and infrastructure.
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