Climate proofing digital procurement tool (CPDP Tool)

Public procurement is responsible for 15% of global GHG emissions. Most of such emissions -- up to 70% of the total are associated with the production, transportation, and disposal of procured goods, products, and materials in just six industries: defence and security, transport, waste management, construction, industrial products, and utilities. Despite the significant budget spent, the public procurement procedures and processes leading to their implementation are not climate-proofed.

Less than 3% of suppliers disclose climate-related data (CDP, 2023), indicating a lack of significant pressure to adopt the net-zero practice.

There are some processes and guidance available to guide public procurement on delivering net zero carbon and have to be included in the contract. However, most of these processes and guidance are related to guidelines for incorporating voluntary climate criteria into public procurement, which have a significant shortfall. They primarily focus on addressing the environmental impacts of goods, products and services related to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet they neglect the aspect of adaptation.

Adaptation refers to how purchased goods and services mitigate the inevitable impacts of climate change.

It is also essential to emphasise such criteria are of voluntary nature and incomplete. They remain more statements of intent than well-established, widely shared, and consistently applied filtering tools. For procurement authorities, considering climate aspects during procurement entails efforts and increased costs. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect that relying solely on individual governments' initiatives would ensure widespread adoption of Green Public Procurement criteria.

Therefore, a digital public procurement is needed to filter the public procurement process so that the local authorities involved in procuring goods, products and services that Do Not Significantly Harm (DNSH) the achievement of net-zero goals (climate mitigation) and that make a substantial contribution to climate change adaptation. To meet the emerging needs, we are developing a digital public procurement filtering tool to contribute towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and achieve a 100% reduction by 2050\.

This digital tool will also help prioritise the procurement of low-carbon and adaptation-friendly goods and services. It will align with suppliers committed to science-based climate neutrality targets and enhance the ability to achieve local authorities' policies and strategic goals.