GAPS

Funded by:

This project is funded under the EPA Research Programme 2021-2030 and co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (Grant No. 2021-GCE-1066). The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Partners:

University of Galway, South East Energy Agency (SEEA), Climate Action Regional Office(CARO)

Description:

Green public procurement (GPP) is a process in which public authorities seek to source goods, services or works with a reduced environmental impact. The Irish Government spends about €9 billion on goods and services annually (12% of GDP) and has enormous potential to reduce emissions and protect our environment, saving money over the full life cycle of goods and services and leading by example. 

This research strategically partners with South East Energy Agency and Climate Action Regional Office and builds a living bank of state of the art knowledge on GPP policy and practice, the successes, the barriers, the quick wins and where policy and practice in Ireland should focus. Recent EU directives enhance the existing possibilities under the 2014 directives for GPP and provide greater clarity in several areas. Best EU practice categorises GPP case studies related to purchases/services and looks beyond the EPA focus in Green Procurement – Guidance for the Public Sector.  

Using discourse based approaches (DBA) we explore GPP policy and practice with procuring professionals and identify solutions. These approaches engender deep participation and foster a cascade of reflection and thought on GPP policy and practice allowing inter-disciplinary investigation and consensus dialogue.  

Based on the DBA we develop and test a pilot GPP toolkit in live situations future proofing it for use in our public sector. Testing will enable identification of issues and solutions. Issues that arise may include inter alia regulatory, policy, process, cultural, behavioural, and market characteristics. Reasons for, and solutions to, GPP inertia in Ireland will be identified.  This research delivers a GPP toolkit capable of catalysing GPP going forward.

Objectives:

• To build a GPP toolkit
• To test the toolkit developing it to impact GPP as widely as possible.

Call for Case Studies:

We are currently looking for organisations to provide us with Case Studies that have examples of good Green Public Procurement practices. We are also looking for people to sign up for our mailing list and follow our social media channels to receive updates and future newsletters relating to the project and toolkit. You can do this by following the links below.

Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/icVCj9
Twitter account: https://twitter.com/GAPS_GPPtoolkit
LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gaps-green-public-procurement/

Reports & Findings:

September 2024 - Case study - Sustainable procurement practices at University of Galway.

August 2024 - Real world testing - Carbon foot print report (University of Galway)

June 2024 - 2024-06-GAPS GPP policy and Practice 

Disclaimer:

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material contained on this webpage, complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor the authors accept any responsibility whatsoever for loss or damage occasioned or claimed to have been occasioned, in part or in full, as a consequence of any person acting or refraining from acting, as a result of a matter contained on this webpage.