Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)’s Post

📢 Exciting News: The Third Working Paper in Our Series is Out! 🌿 Dive into the fascinating intersection of sustainability and the European Union's (EU) Public Procurement (PP) law in the latest installment of our working paper series. Authored by ESR Natalia Spataru, this research explores how the EU's PP system can serve as a pivotal mechanism for incorporating sustainability objectives alongside its primary goal of facilitating trade. 🔍 Through meticulous legal-historical analysis, Spataru traces the evolution of the EU PP framework, revealing the increasing integration of sustainability considerations. This approach offers profound insights into the potential of EU PP law to support free trade and champion environmental and social standards. 💼 The paper critically examines the fundamental principles and mechanisms of the EU PP system, emphasizing the stages where sustainability criteria play a crucial role. Spataru's work underscores the significance of aligning trade liberalization efforts with sustainability goals, sparking a vital conversation on the future of public procurement in achieving a sustainable and inclusive economy. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eKVch8UX #WorkingPaperSeries #EUPublicProcurement #SustainabilityInLaw #ResearchHighlight #TradeAndSustainability #EnvironmentalLaw #SocialStandards

Interesting Sapiens research on how EU directives affect sustainable public procurement within the EU identifies: - Discretion: to incorporate sustainability in specifications - Selection criteria: Directive 2004/18 has an exhaustive list of evidence for tenderers' technical capacities, limiting them. - Award: "most economically advantageous tender" (MEAT) can include cost and technical merit, mentioned in ranked order in contract notices. - Subcontracting: tenderers' proposals can evidence how much of the contract will be carried out by smaller, possibly local, businesses. - Requirements:  Protecting the environment is recognized as a mandatory requirement, indicating a legal basis for including sustainability. The Cassis de Dijon case's rule of reason means EU states can specify sustainability aspects, provided measures are non-discriminatory and proportionate, i.e. those with less restriction are preferred. Therefore, buyers' decisions need to balance sustainability with fundamental EU internal market principles to promote intra-EU trade, particularly competition (non-discrimination) and free movement. #trade #sustainableprocurement #publicprocurement

🍏 A Typology of Mandatory Sustainability Requirements in Public Procurement 🍏 In our book that got published this month with Hart, we tried to also provide an understanding and discussion of the move towards regulating 'what to buy' in the EU. In the introductory Chapter 1, I have tried to discuss: 🌱 CONTEXT ... where we come from in the context of EU public procurement law. Conclusion: lots of possibilities to procure sustainable outcomes and lots of ineffective mandatory requirements (I am looking at you art. 18(2)!). The EU Green deal is a change-maker here. A moving target, but more and more proposals are seeing the light; 🔥 RELEVANCE ...what the most important questions are in need of discussion when looking at this paradigm change (like subsdiarity, alternative regulation, procurement setting, economic views, legal sectoral and Member State views); 🎉 TYPOLOGY ... how we can categorize the existing and coming mandatory requirements in a so-called typology. We can distinguish (product specific requirements, targets, and minimum mandatory public procurement requirements). For the latter, it is at least relevant to discuss 'horizontal vs. vertical' (sectoral?) or 'procedural vs. substantive'. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this. See the book here (edited with Roberto Caranta, with the help of Ezgi Uysal, and written with a great team of authors): https://lnkd.in/eTNsQzpS

‼️ Final Call to Contracting Authorities, #Socialeconomy Leaders and Legal Experts! Did you know public purchasing can drive #social goals? Are you engaged in Socially Responsible Public Procurement (#SRPP)? Contribute to the European Commission’s survey, sharing insights on communication trends in the EU27. 🔗 Participate: https://bit.ly/3MX96vS 📆 Deadline ends on January 22 - Your chance to shape a more sustainable and socially conscious future! This survey is framed within the sister project of a study that PwC EU Services is conducting for the European Commission which focuses on the measurement of social impact in public procurement. #WeBuySocialEU #EUPublicProcurement Valentina Caimi Alexandra Yaghil Agarwal Catarina Arnaut

🆕 New open-access publication! 💡 Our ESR 4, Nadia Sava, recently published an article titled "The eForms Regulation and Sustainable Public Procurement Data Collection". The article, published in open access in the EPPPL Review, discusses the potential and challenges of eForms becoming the mandatory standard for collecting sustainable public procurement data. Read more about Nadia's research on emergent technologies and public procurement and access the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ds2UFqTC #SAPIENSNETWORK #SPP #PublicProcurement #PhDResearch

🌍 Exciting news from the forefront of EU law and sustainability! 📘 "Mandatory Sustainability Requirements in EU Public Procurement Law: Reflections on a Paradigm Shift," freshly published and edited by the SAPIENS Network Coordinator, Prof. Roberto Caranta, alongside Prof. Willem A. Janssen. 🔍 This publication delves into the EU's progressive shift towards mandatory sustainability in public procurement—a move reflective of our urgent climate goals and the European Green Deal’s objectives. A pioneering work, it is the first to comprehensively appraise this pivotal transformation in EU public procurement law. 🌱 Each chapter unravels the intricacies of sustainable public procurement (SPP), from its foundational shifts to sector-specific studies and member state experiences, culminating in a look towards the future of SPP. 🤝 Contributions from SAPIENS Network’s leading researchers and ESRs like Marta Andhov, Federica Muscaritoli, Enrique Carreras, Davide Vannoni, Małgorzata Koszewska, and Jeanne Svensky Ligte underscore the Network's integral role in shaping this dialogue. 📅 Mark your calendars! On November 9, 2023, join the editors and Marta Andhov in the CirCus webinar series to further explore the legal landscape of circular supply chains and the movement towards mandatory SPP. 🔗 Your journey into the future of EU sustainability begins with a click. Don't miss out on these groundbreaking insights – access the full blog post by our ESR, Ezgi Uysal, on the book here: https://lnkd.in/e9BUyhzY #EUSustainability #PublicProcurement #SAPIENS #EUlaw #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateAction #GreenDeal #AcademicPublishing #CircularEconomy #Webinar #SustainabilityInnovation #MandatorySPP #SAPIENSNetwork

🌟 Excited to share that I had the honor of connecting with Orsolya Diófási-Kovács, Phd renowned as the queen of green public procurement! 👑 Despite her hectic schedule, she graciously spared her time for our discussion. 🙏 🌱 We delved into fascinating details that will significantly enrich my thesis, which centers on comparing the procurement guidelines of IFIs from a sustainability standpoint. Her insights were invaluable, shedding light on crucial aspects of green and sustainable public procurement. A big thank you to Orsolya Diófási-Kovács, Phd for the enlightening conversation! 🙌 Looking forward to implementing these learnings and contributing further to the realm of sustainable practices. 💫 Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting journey! 🌿 PS: I am sharing this news with the cover of the book of which Orsolya Diófási-Kovács, Phd is one of the authors and which is an invaluable source for green economy and green growth! For those curious about the book, here's the link: https://lnkd.in/dBux7zhV #sustainableprocurement #publicprocurement #greenprocurement #circulareconomy #eudirective #sustainabledevelopment

📄 New Policy Brief | "Impact of #ESIFunds on Green Procurement in Czechia" #GreenProcurement #EUfunds #Sustainability 🌱 🔍 Discover our latest #PolicyAnalysis by Ruben Nicolas, Vítězslav Titl and Fredo Schotanus on the role of #European Structural #Investment #Funds (ESIF) in promoting sustainable public procurement practices in Czechia. 🌿 Key Insights: 🔹Modest growth in the update of green public procurement caused by ESIF. 🔹The effect is limited due to selection behaviour by public buyers. 🔹Financial incentives from ESIF outpace the effect of green policy objectives. 🔹A clear need for policy recalibration.   📊 The link for the full Policy Brief can be found in the comments. 🔺Recommendations for enhancing ESIF's effectiveness. 🔺Strategies for aligning financial and environmental objectives.   👩🔬 Personal Info 1️⃣ Ruben Nicolas, PhD Candidate at Utrecht University 2️⃣ Vítězslav Titl Titl, Assistant Professor in Law and Economics at Utrecht University School of Economics 3️⃣ Fredo Schotanus, Professor of Public Procurement at Utrecht University  

How can public procurement strengthen the #greentransition? How do we best resolve the tension between climate demands and cost? The Norwegian Auditor General Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen has stated that the authorities do not use their green purchasing power as parliament has decided – as of Jan1st this year, climate demands shall weigh 30% in public procurement. But what does that mean, exactly? Happy to hear that climate demands will play a significant role in the upcoming law proposal, as Minister of Trade Cecilie T. Myrseth just stressed in today’s #ConferenceonProcurement at NHO. Investing in green products simply needs to be economically sustainable 🌿

Laurence Folliot Lalliot (Université Paris Nanterre) and Christopher Yukins (The George Washington University) published an article titled “Will protectionism prevail in global public procurement ?” in #Concurrences 2-2024. Read more here: https://shorturl.at/SwcSk This article explores how public procurement can enhance macro-protectionist policies while promoting other objectives without compromising competition. It demonstrates that social, economic, and environmental goals can coexist with a competitive procurement system, especially with the global rise of sustainable public procurement policies. #publicprocurement #protectionism #antitrustlaw #competitionlaw #antitrust #droitdelaconcurrence #DireitoDaConcorrencia #competitionpolicy