CE-PRINCE has started to make public procurements greener and more circular in Central Europe

The kick-off meeting of the CE-PRINCE Interreg Central Europe project, a pivotal event in our project timeline, was successfully held in Genova from June 12 to 13. Ten partners and 14 associated partners from 7 Central European countries form the green PRocurement and Innovation Network for Circular Economy. Our project initiative was warmly greeted by Mr Francesco Caso, Head of the Strategic Development Sector for the Ligurian economy, Ms Paola Carnevale, Head of the Environment Sector, and Mr Marco Rolandi, Regional Coordinator for Territorial Cooperation Programmes. Following a comprehensive briefing on The project implementation by Angelika van Es, Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme Officer, the CE-PRINCE partnership engaged in a fruitful discussion on the Project Monitoring Plan, technical and operational project activities, administrative tasks, reporting, and monitoring activities, and the Project Communication Strategy. Circular/Green Public Procurement (C/GPP) accounts for 14% of EU GDP and is a key factor in achieving the green transition and improving market competitiveness while stimulating eco-innovation. The transnational partnership will support the transition to a Circular Economy in Central Europe, leveraging on Circular/Green Public Procurement to improve companies' circularity while reinforcing the public sector's capacity to publish tenders containing more and more elements of circularity.

Initial Assessment on Public Sector C/GPP Survey

CE-PRINCE starts with assessments in Central Europe to provide an overview of the level of awareness about C/GPP in the public sector and the degree of implementation. The results will stress the different levels and methods of GPP adoption, focusing on weaknesses.

Private Sector C/GPP Initial Assessment Survey

The assessment provides an overview of the companies' circularity levels in each region of the CE-PRINCE transnational partnership. It takes into account GPP criteria to identify the to-be-improved aspects and to enhance their circularity and capacity to apply to green public tenders.

Central European Circular Public Procurement Network

Relevant public and private stakeholders from Central Europe will create a network to connect the project to regional, national, and European stakeholder groups. Members will share knowledge, data, solutions, and best practices to enhance Circular/GPP. The network will act as an advisory board orienting project activities and assuring cooperation.

Initial Assessment on Public Sector Circular Green Public Procurement (C/GPP)

Private Sector C/GPP Initial Assessment

Circular Green Public Procurement Interactive Heat Map

The Interactive Heat Map uses the data derived from the initial assessments and serves as a tool to understand the degree of implementations of C/GPP across Central Europe at a glance.

Transnational Strategy for Circular Green Public Procurement in Central Europe

This strategic document defines the path to accelerate the spread of C/GPP across Central Europe at policy and operational level, facilitating the circular market and enhancing the matching between public demand and the supply side in the sectors of manufacturing, agrifood, construction and tourism related economic activities.

Transnational Action Plan for Public Sector C/GPP in Central Europe

The TAP for PA C/GPP translates the Transnational Strategy to actions, enhances PAs capability to apply GPP as a leverage to promote circular economy and encourages the matching with companies as suppliers with attention to the specific economic sectors, taking into account region-specific features with a mutual learning approach.

TAP to improve enterprises circularity and compliance with C/GPP criteria

The Transnational Action Plan for the private sector will be the roadmap for enterprises to reach an upgraded level of circularity in compliance with GPP criteria required by public tenders. It will contain concrete actions for entrepreneurial practices for Circularity.

Pilot Action: Assessment and improvement of C/GPP tenders

The Pilot will strengthen public procurers' C/GPP knowledge and skills, focusing on the process of public tender drafting and tender assessments in the awarding phase. Central European procurers will draft tenders in transnational cooperation to test them in public procurement procedures in the key economic sectors.

C/GPP Capacity Building

Webinar recordings, training materials and an educational game to support public procurers in the elaboration of circular public tenders.

Jointly developed solutions: C/GPP criteria and guidelines

The sets of circular criteria for manufacturing, agrifood, constructions and tourism related goods/services with practical will facilitate procurers for application in public tenders to push the market toward circular economy.

Pilot Action: Assessment and improvement of C/GPP skills in the key economic sectors

The Pilots will test sectoral targeted circular business models to support the transformative process and improve their capacity to respond to circular public tenders, monitor and evaluate the achievements of companies’ circularity and compliance to GGP criteria.

Circular/GPP Business Models and Guidelines

The sectoral circular business models and guidelines will improve enterprises practices in terms of recycling input, product as a service, sharing economy, product use extension and resource recovery, oriented to green public procurement tenders in the key sectors. Solutions will support the circularity transformative process of companies in Central Europe.