ENCOURAGING SUSTAINABILITY OF EUROPEAN SMART CITIES THROUGH GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Green and Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP and GPP) is a strategic tool to pursue sustainable development and broader environmental, social, and innovation policy goals, achieving real progress to cities and turning them to smart cities. As public authorities have a significant purchasing power, they can play an important role in the promotion of sustainability, by integrating sustainable and innovative considerationsin the development of their procurement strategies.The current European framework for public procurement include environmental and social considerations and innovation-friendly provisions that may be taken into account when governmental contracts are awarded and performed. Smarter approaches to public procurement should be further developed and widely adopted.Public purchasers risk-averse behavior triggered by their mandate to manage taxpayers money wisely and their limited experience with sustainability-oriented mechanisms impede public buyers in smart cities to introduce sustainability in their procurements. The good knowledge of the available SPP and GPP provisions will therefore support public buyers in smart cities to benefit from these procurement mechanisms. Outlining the green and sustainability-orientated mechanisms set out in the European procurement framework, this paper holds implications for academics, procurement practitioners, and urban planners.