Tools for Sustainable Procurement
The enormous potential of procurement in promoting climate action was the focus of the XPRESS Stakeholder Café. In an opening lecture entitled "Lies, Greenwashing and Real Challenges", Claudia Kemfert, Head of the Energy, Transport and Environment Department at DIW Berlin, warned that "climate neutrality" was increasingly threatening to become a buzzword without any real reduction in emissions. The goal should rather be "zero emissions" and "carbon capture" (negative emissions). Technologically and financially uncertain CO2 capture and storage should be avoided accordingly. Furthermore, CO2 monitoring and life cycle cost analysis were the focus of the presentation by Miguel Morcillo of Climate Alliance. In particular, the benefits of a CO2 price for sustainable procurement were discussed. Dorothea Schäfer from DIW Berlin then showed the first results of a study on SMEs as a driver for innovative procurement. Initial indications suggest that success in a tender at the European level could have an overall positive effect on the turnover development of SMEs.
Dorothea Schäfer, Research Director Financial Markets DIW Berlin, then showed the first results of a study on SMEs as a driver for innovative procurement. Initial indications suggest that success in a tender at the European level could have an overall positive effect on the turnover development of SMEs.
In the final discussion, it became clear that more political support and awareness for sustainable procurement is still needed. In addition to the further training of procurers in order to be able to better address the prerequisites of SMEs, the improvement of communication between procurers and SMEs was also recommended.
