Carbon footprint in Green Public Procurement: a case study in the services sector

Abstract

The current climate change scenario calls for decisive actions to ensure sustainable development, among which a key factor could be the goal of reducing carbon footprint. However, a major constraint is the voluntary reporting of what are known as “other indirect emissions”, and this is particularly critical in service companies with a lack of direct emissions and indirect energy emissions. These companies play an important role in public procurement, and governments need to take advantage of the Green Public Procurement initiative. This work aims to calculate the carbon footprint of a commonly outsourced conservation and maintenance service as well as to compare the results from two consecutive years in order to provide recommendations for implementing carbon footprint requirements in public procurement. To our knowledge this is the first description of the carbon footprint of a conservation and maintenance service conducted with a view to providing specific recommendations for Green Public Procurement. The total carbon footprint of the conservation and maintenance service was 152 t CO2eq in 2011, and 214 t CO2eq in 2012 (41% higher). In addition to this rise in greenhouse gas emissions, operational expenses and investments increased to 12%. Results, implications and potential future actions are discussed within the Green Public Procurement initiative. The main conclusion is that the inclusion of carbon footprint in Green Public Procurement can act as a strong stimulus for eco-innovation.