Green and circular procurement in public organizations – from single use to reuse and prolonged lifetime in the City of Malmö

Abstract

The procurement in public organisations has traditionally been performed in a linear way. Using circular solutions could help public organisations to save resources and tackle climate change. The Swedish City of Malmö strives to include circular solutions and become a circular municipality. The goal of the study was to explore activities for increased reuse and visualise how circular material flows can reduce environmental impacts. The goal was also to develop a method for mapping material flows that can be used in the City of Malmö and other public organisations. The studied activities included in this study are the reuse of furniture and replacement of single use plastic with reuse alternatives, as well as prolonged lifetime of IT products and textiles. Life cycle analysis (LCA) based methods were used to estimate the reduction in environmental impact from the studied activities. The perception of circular activities within the City of Malmö was analysed with a survey. The results showed that the purchasing agreements with increased lifetime for clothing and IT products, lead to reduced environmental impacts. The results also showed that most employees are interested in using a digital sharing platform. Additionally, the results pointed out the need for a circular manager.