EU Ecolabel criteria in Green Public Procurement

There are a number of environmental labels and their purpose is to help buyers identify sustainable products or services. The most valuable labels from the point of view of Green Public Procurement (GPP) are those that are based on objective and transparent criteria and are awarded by an independent third party, such as the Polish Centre for Testing and Certification. Such a label is the EU Ecolabel. It is an official EU distinction applied to products with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle and covers a total of 24 product groups.

Importance of the EU Ecolabel

It can play a particular role in the development of technical specifications and award criteria, as well as in the verification of their compliance. In this context, EU Ecolabel criteria can be used to define the characteristics of the goods or services being procured in a way that takes their environmental impact into account.

By adopting the EU Ecolabel criteria, and therefore the Ecolabel, as one way of proving compliance with technical specifications, time can be saved during verification.

In addition, environmental criteria can also be a key element in the qualification of economic operators. This means that there may be selection criteria in the contract that eliminate contractors that do not meet the legal environmental requirements.

Product groups

In addition, the European Commission develops and publishes common criteria for given product groups, which to a large extent recall the EU Ecolabel criteria for different product groups, i.e. cleaning products, hygiene products, textiles or cleaning services and many others.

EU Ecolabel in Green Public Procurement

The use of the EU Ecolabel allows you to make informed decisions and purchase more responsibly. The use of EU Ecolabel criteria in green public procurement can be an important driver of innovation, providing real incentives for green products and services. The concept of green public procurement itself is not new, but it is becoming more important in the face of ongoing climate change, and public procurement can become one of the main tools to help close the loop in the economy.