Good practice on ecolabels and sustainable public procurement: Sustainable public procurement policies, ecolabels and environmental certifications

Published on September 11, 2024

This specific good practice "Sustainable public procurement policies that use ecolabels and environmental certifications" explores the benefits of aligning public procurement criteria with existing ecolabels or environmental certifications. These tools can also define test methods and verification processes to ensure compliance with these criteria. Implementing sustainable public procurement in conjunction with endorsed ecolabels or certifications reduces the administrative and technical costs associated with developing environmental requirements for each procurement item and establishes a consistent standard for product performance in the marketplace. Some countries have strong institutional policies that actively encourage or require the use of ecolabel-aligned criteria while others take an ad-hoc approach, depending on the willingness of the procurers. China, the United States, Korea, Japan, Thailand, the European Union, Brazil, Ecuador, and Argentina have policies that are examples of different kinds of implementation.

Available in English and Spanish.

This series of 20 good practices reflects experiences on ecolabelling, sustainable public procurement, or the joint use of ecolabelling and sustainable public procurement that have demonstrated positive impacts on fostering sustainable consumption and production — for this reason, they are called "good practices.” These good practices aim to promote global exchange by providing information and examples of various approaches that entities from different countries and contexts can apply to strengthen the use of ecolabels and sustainable public procurement. They were developed as an outcome of the Working Group on Ecolabelling from the Consumer Information Programme, under the One Planet network, and the EcoAdvance project, jointly implemented by the German Cooperation for Development (GIZ), the United Nations for Environmental Protection (UNEP), and the Oeko Institute, funded by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, nuclear safety and consumer protection (BMUV), and the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

We would be delighted to present this good practice during one of your events. Additionally, if you would like to replicate it, share a good practice that we could systematize, or learn more about the EcoAdvance project, please contact us at ciscp@un.org.