11.22.2018 - The requirements for environmental protection measures and cost of life cycle in the course of public procurements
11.22.2018 – The Requirements for the Measures on Environmental Protection and the Cost of the Life Cycle in the Course of Public Procurement
On November 22, 2018 within the framework of the section “Ecology Green Mind” at the International Forum Innovation Market was held a workshop “The Requirements for the Measures on Environmental Protection and the Cost of the Life Cycle in the Course of Public Procurement”. The workshop was organized by the Green Mind team with the participation of the representatives of the Department of Public Procurement Regulation of the Ministry of Economic Development, the state-run enterprise "ProZorro", the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, NGO Living Planet and NGO GoLOCAL.
The workshop focused not only on the theoretical, but also on the practical component. In particular, the participants received answers to questions concerning the effective application of the selection criteria and the choice of the subject of procurement, as well as during the group work, they fulfilled the practical tasks of applying the obtained knowledge to prepare the tender documentation. The trainers familiarized the participants with the advanced criteria of the technical specifications taking into account the requirements of environmental and social standards, analysis of the readiness of the market for their application in Ukraine, the requirements of investors and donors. They also provided methodological recommendations and successful examples of implementation of sustainable public procurement in Ukraine.
There were presented the expected reforms of national legislation aimed at increasing the potential of sustainable public procurement and measures to support these reforms. The customers also participated in the survey, which was aimed at obtaining feedback on the relevance of the application criteria selection of procurement subject, the practices of applying such criteria, creating priority product groups, from the point of views of the customers, to conduct public tenders using non-price criteria, defining obstacles and ways to solve them. The results of the study will be taken into account during the implementation of the project "Non-price Criteria for Public Procurement" within the framework of the EU Association Lab.
As a result of the survey, it was determined that more than half of the purchasers know and apply non-price criteria in public procurement, including requirements for environmental measures.
Among the categories of goods, services or works for which non-price criteria, including requirements for environmental protection measures, should be applied, the respondents most often noted repairs, construction materials, food products, stationery, cosmetics, packaging, detergents, furniture, office equipment, cleaning services, stationery, household goods, wood products, paper.
Among other obstacles the purchasers named the lack of certified suppliers for certain product groups. In one case it was pointed out that at present, there is no such demand due to the fact that the procurement specifications determine the technical and qualitative characteristics of the procurement, and the documents require providing certificates and other documents confirming the quality of goods and services, while the need for the application of non-price criteria is absent.
More than half of the purchasers (52%) noted that an electronic tool (constructor) is needed to increase the application of non-price criteria, which would enable to select appropriate non-price criteria for a particular procurement subject. 29% also noted that they need a clear methodology for applying non-price criteria.
48% of the respondents need additional expert assistance to determine the selection criteria (in particular regarding the need for environmental protection measures) and selection (non-price criteria) to the procurement subject. In general, 90% of purchasers point out that the use of non-price criteria will increase the likelihood of purchasing the desired procurement item.
The information on the application of non-price criteria for the selection of the subject of procurement
The clearly defined technical requirements for the subject of the purchase is the key to getting exactly that product and exactly the quality that you need.
This approach meets the requirements of Article 22 of the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement", in particular, regarding the need for the inclusion of environmental protection measures in the bidding documentation. Also, the law indicates that the documentation of the competitive bidding must contain references to the standards defining the characteristics, requirements, conventions and terminology associated with the goods, works or services.
In accordance with this law, customers may refer to standards that set criteria for a procurement item, including its characteristics (for example, energy efficiency, functional characteristics, safety, biodegradability and other environmental characteristics), thereby ensuring the effectiveness of procurement.
The use of non-price criteria is only possible if the purchase is complex in nature. These criteria include, for example:
- Terms of payment;
- Terms of execution;
- Warranty service;
- Operating costs, etc.
Sustainable public procurement are public procurement of goods, works and services that meet the requirements of environmental and social standards, taking into account their full cost of life cycle.
The term "environmental standards" means standards and labeling aimed at reducing the consumption of energy and other resources, limiting environmental impacts and risks to human health throughout the life cycle.
Applying this approach, budget organizations contribute to the achievement of such goals as improving resource efficiency, reducing pollutant emissions and greenhouse gases, waste management, etc. In the social sphere, sustainable procurements provide safer and more comfortable conditions for human life. In terms of economics, the criterion of choosing a "price" that takes into account the full cost of the life cycle provides an objective assessment of the benefits or losses associated with the subject of procurement and the effectiveness of procurement as a whole.
Sustainable procurement will also highlight the leadership positions of government and budget organizations to address environmental and social issues and the effective management of budget funds.
This approach meets the requirements of Directive 2014/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the EU Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repeal of Directive 2004/18/EC and legislation of many countries of the world.
Information materials of the workshop
Maximum set of criteria for technical specifications for detergents (example)
BREEAM International Standard - New Construction 2016
An online sustainable public procurement course
Trainers' presentations available for download
Non-price criteria and the process of reforming public procurement (Oleksiy Skoruk, Department of Public Procurement Regulation of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade)
Principles and methods of applying the criteria for the selection and choice of the procurement subject: determine; assess the effectiveness (method of assessing the life cycle); apply and evaluate the proposal (Svitlana Berzina, UN Environment Expert on Sustainable Consumption and Sustainable Public Procurement)
Training course for customers and suppliers for the implementation of green procurement: application of environmental protection measures to the procurement subject (Ihor Komendo and Anastasia Klimina, NGO GoLOCAL, Project "Transfer of best practices in Sustainable Public Procurement from Slovakia to Ukraine")
Forest Certification Scheme (FCS) (Pavlo Kravets, Director of the National FSC Representative Office in Ukraine)
With support and participation
Partners
