Public Procurement and Biofuel Sustainability Criteria: Is There a Link?

Abstract

eu member states promote renewable energy in accordance with the provisions of the Renewable Energy Directive (red). The directive includes fully harmonized sustainability criteria for biofuels. These criteria apply, however, only when biofuel production and consumption are incentivized through financial support or schemes with renewable-energy obligations. The objective of this article is to explore the potential relevance of the sustainability criteria in the context of public procurement, e.g. when a public authority prioritizes the use of biofuels in transport services it purchases and wishes to include certain sustainability criteria. I conclude that red’s sustainability criteria would not apply to most models of sustainable public procurement. With this comes the risk that biofuels are promoted in public procurement in contradiction to the ideals reflected in red. Hence, changes to eu biofuel law should be considered, perhaps even drawing from life-cycle models developed in procurement law.