proCURE project

Empowering Small Municipalities: Insights for Implementing Sustainable Procurement

A handbook and set of tools designed to assist small municipalities in sustainable procurement are currently being developed and finalized by the project partners of proCURE.

The development process is based on insights gathered from previous focus groups. Between September and December 2024, procurement officials from smaller municipalities took part in seven focus groups across six countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slovenia). During these sessions, participants discussed content and format of the handbook and tools. This article presents the key findings from these discussions.

As the first step toward a systematic implementation of sustainable procurement, it is often necessary to engage mayors and municipal council members in the concept of sustainable municipal procurement and to spark their interest. Participants in the focus groups were asked which reasons they would use to convince key individuals in their communities to support sustainable procurement. Below are reasons that participants found particularly compelling:

• Supporting local and regional value creation
• Promoting the health and well-being of employees and customers
• Ensuring compliance with laws and political strategies
• Enhancing the image of the municipality
• Protecting the environment

In response to the question about the writing style to be used in the handbook and tools, three approaches were discussed: a more journalistic/objective style, an emotional style, and a simple and concise style. It was not surprising that a majority of participants preferred the simple and concise style. The unique aspect of procurement in small municipalities is that those responsible typically have a wide range of other tasks, and procurement is often seen as an additional responsibility. Therefore, anything that can be quickly absorbed is particularly valuable. The focus groups also revealed that there are quite a few advocates of a more emotional language style, one that conveys a sense of urgency and moral necessity, particularly when addressing sustainability and sustainable procurement. One focus group highlighted the importance of framing sentences positively.

The question about tools essential for implementing sustainable procurement revealed a variety of options. Tools most frequently mentioned are listed below:

• A template for a municipal council decision
• An overview of labels
• A catalogue of local products, suppliers and services
• A guide for joint procurement between municipalities
• A decision support tool: What does it cost, what are the benefits?

Although differences in preferences and expectations were noted across countries—primarily due to varying frameworks for sustainable public procurement and possibly cultural differences—there were still common findings. These insights, gathered through the focus groups, have enabled the project team to more effectively design the handbook and tools to meet the specific needs of the target audiences.

 

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.