The implementing decree for Article 35 of the “Climate and Resilience” law of 22 August 2021 has finally been published. The latter provided, in this article, various measures to “green public procurement”. A public consultation was launched in January on the draft application decree, which was finally published on 2 May. What is it about?
The “climate and resilience” law included sustainable development objectives in the public procurement code and its article 35 specified concrete measures in this sense: the long-awaited application decree has come to specify the expected regulatory measures:
- The obligation to include at least one selection criterion based on the environmental characteristics of the offer when awarding a public contract (elimination of the single criterion of price)
- The obligation for concessionaires to include in the annual report submitted to the conceding authority the measures implemented to guarantee environmental protection and integration through economic activity in the context of the execution of the concession.
- Concerning the obligation to draw up a scheme for the promotion of socially and environmentally responsible purchasing (SPASER): the decree lowers the threshold above which local authorities are obliged to draw up a SPASER from €100 million to €50 million of annual expenditure in the context of public procurement.
It should be noted that the decree specifies the dates of entry into force of these provisions and thus modifies various articles of the public procurement code.
Public procurement is a major lever of action for local authorities. This is a step forward in orienting public procurement towards the ecological transition.
