Participants at the Procura+ Seminar on 'smarter engagement with the market' The Procura+ Sustainable Procurement Campaign was established in 2004 by ICLEI to help drive the mainstreaming of sustainable public procurement

Bringing about sustainable change in markets

Freiburg, 12 November 2008 - An energy-efficient future was on the international agenda at the Procura⁺ Seminar on ‘smarter engagement with the market’ on 6-7 November 2008 hosted by the City of Birmingham (UK).

Procura⁺, 'most value for money'

The Senior Procurement Manager from the Greater London Authority (UK) expressed his satisfaction: “Procura⁺ gives most value for money and offers great networking possibilities, combined with new and interesting information on latest approaches such as pre-procurement of sustainable innovations.“ said Collan Murray, his city participating in the Campaign since early 2008. Procura⁺ is the European Campaign designed to help support public authorities across Europe in implementing sustainable procurement and help promote their achievements. This year’s participants meeting was held on 7 November 2008 following the Seminar. 

Birmingham City Council’s Sustainability Team and Corporate Procurement Services, in conjunction with the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, and the local strategic partnership for Birmingham, 'Be Birmingham', organised the event with ICLEI.

Meeting to Enrich Sustainable Procurement Processes

The Procura⁺ Seminar provided an excellent opportunity for local and regional government representatives from across Europe to learn and exchange experiences on how to use the pre-procurement phase to make smarter purchasing decisions, facilitate dialogues between procurers and suppliers, and reduce their cities’ energy and CO₂ emissions. Supported by the SMART-SPP, project participants discussed next steps towards procurement of sustainable innovations. A dialogue between manufacturers of electric vehicles and LED lighting with procurers and other experts was encouraged.

Speakers

Speakers included Lieve Bos from the European Commission (Pre-Commercial Procurement), Hans Wendschlag representing Hewlett Packard (Sweden), Dave Starling, Head of Procurement, Bromley Council (United Kingdom), Robert Stüssi from AVERE – European Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Road Vehicles (Portugal) and Keith Sequeira from the European Commission’s Lead Market Initiative.

Spending Public Money to Foster Sustainable Development

Councillor Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council and Chair of Be Birmingham said “Communities all over the world are facing the dramatic consequences of climate change, excessive use of natural resources, threats to biodiversity and increasing poverty. Sustainable procurement – spending public money responsibly on products and services that foster sustainable development – must therefore be a priority. On Birmingham’s behalf I welcome the work of ICLEI and the role our city can play in making a more sustainable future”.

More information on Procura⁺:

http://www.procuraplus.org
Contact at ICLEI: philipp.tepper@iclei.org