Why should public procurement be about sustainability

Public procurement law, the rules regulating purchase of goods and service by public agencies, is an area of great economic interest. In the European Union, total public expenditure on goods, works and services amounted to over €2,400 billion in 2010.1 While the main focus on the EU level has been on facilitating competition, transparency, non-discrimination and anti-corruption,2 the last decade has seen a growing recognition of the importance of employing economic drivers to promote overarching societal goals. Next to the objective of increasing the simplicity and flexibility of EU public procurement law, a major aim of the 2014 Procurement Directives of the EU3 is to enlarge the possibilities for using public procurement in support of broader social and environmental goals.