Given escalating environmental challenges, the imperative for governments to embrace sustainable practices has never been more pressing. The urgency of curbing climate change and preserving biodiversity requires concerted efforts across all sectors and stakeholders. Governments play a pivotal role in steering policies and enacting change for a greener future, both domestically and internationally.

Results from the OECD 2022 survey on green public procurement (GPP), carried out in 38 countries, clearly show that countries increasingly recognise GPP as a major driver for innovation. In fact, in 2022, 92% of the surveyed countries (35 out of 38) had adopted a national GPP or policy framework, and 29 of them refer to GPP, or at least to public procurement, in their national environmental commitments as a tool for pursuing sustainability goals. GPP provides industry with incentives for developing environment-friendly works, products and services, particularly in sectors where public purchasers represent a large share of the market, such as infrastructure, health services or public transportation. However, the results also highlight remaining challenges in mainstreaming green objectives in government procurement, including a lack of data on the impacts of green procurement strategies and the need to better capture the lifecycle costs and environmental impacts of goods and services procured to encourage the private sector to compete on green dimensions. Furthermore, the perception that GPP involves higher public procurement costs is still perceived by 22 countries as one of the main obstacles to a better uptake of GPP.

This introductory chapter outlines the methodology and main findings of the OECD Survey on Green Public Procurement (GPP). It details the survey's structure, participant countries, and data cleaning processes, emphasising GPP's growing significance and the need for strategic procurement practices. The chapter identifies key challenges and enabling factors for GPP implementation, highlighting areas for improvement in integrating environmental considerations into public procurement, training procurement professionals, engaging with the market, and enhancing data collection and reporting mechanisms.

Developing a comprehensive strategy or a reference framework for advancing environmental objectives through public procurement is crucial for maintaining policy coherence and aligning procurement practices across diverse government levels. Over the past decade, countries have actively formulated GPP strategies and policies, a momentum that gained further attention with the advent of the UN Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. This chapter explores the detailed policies adopted by countries to support GPP, looking at the incorporation of mandatory requirements and the establishment of GPP-related targets. It focuses on the measures taken to ensure the harmonisation of GPP policies with broader national environmental commitments. Furthermore, the chapter sheds light on the primary challenges encountered by contracting authorities during GPP implementation, identifies pivotal factors promoting GPP adoption, and looks at the incentives employed to encourage the procurement of environmentally friendly products.

This Chapter looks at the dynamic relationship between public and private entities in the realm of GPP. It critically examines two pivotal aspects: the readiness of markets to embrace GPP initiatives and the effectiveness of GPP tenders in driving tangible green impacts. As governments increasingly recognize the pivotal role of procurement in advancing sustainability goals, understanding how markets respond to GPP and the design of tender processes becomes imperative. Through an exploration of market communication strategies and the framing of GPP tenders, this Chapter seeks to shed light on how contracting authorities engage with the market, outlining their expectations and fostering meaningful public-private interactions that contribute to the realization of environmentally sustainable practices.

This chapter presents the findings from the 2022 OECD Survey on GPP concerning the use of reporting and monitoring systems across OECD and non-OECD countries. Most notably, it provides an overview of the types of GPP-related data that are collected by governments, including on the environmental and economic impacts of green procurement strategies.

This Chapter presents the results from the 2022 OECD Survey on GPP on capacity-building and technical support for GPP. Most notably, it provides an overview of the existing efforts across OECD and non-OECD countries to provide public buyers with the necessary skills, competences, and knowledge base for effective green procurement. The Chapter also highlights potential areas for improvements to strengthen GPP professionalisation in public procurement systems.