Sustainable public procurement in Portugal: The case of two public school canteens

Abstract

AbstractIn recent years, numerous opportunities have been created to encourage new integrated approaches to sustainable food programs in many sectors, namely education. The critical role played by the State and public policies in the transition toward a more sustainable food system is at stake in the case of public procurement. Having this in mind, this paper explores the emergence of innovative procedures of public procurement in the canteens of Portuguese public schools. After consideration of the evolution of European and Portuguese normative framework regarding this subject, this paper presents a synthesis of the Government database on the public procurement of school food, and two case studies corresponding to two distinct territories where local public administration innovated in terms of public procurement in food preparation. This paper presents the main challenges, barriers and opportunities involved in the inclusion of qualitative criteria in public contracts of acquisition of goods and services, considering social, environmental, and ethical dimensions. Our findings suggest that, in the Portuguese case, and despite the many efforts to actively encourage the use of green and sustainable procedures in the canteens of public schools, the effective realization on the ground is uneven.