Consequences and order objectives

We also take care of sustainable development by signing public procurement contracts in such a way that we place as little burden as possible on the environment, health and well-being of humans and animals. At the same time, of course, we should not neglect the importance of long-term economic efficiency.

Public procurement accounts for approximately 14 percent of GDP in the EU and 11 percent in Slovenia, which means that public authorities have a significant impact on many areas of life through their purchases. Recently, the importance of green public procurement, which is an important tool for achieving the environmental goals adopted by Slovenia by signing the Paris Agreement, has been growing. In addition, the sustainable consumption of public clients also affects social aspects, such as the rights of employees, ethical standards, equal treatment of all, and the like.

In Slovenia, in public procurement procedures, in the vast majority of cases, clients use the price of the product/service as the only criterion for selecting the most appropriate provider. It is more correct for clients to choose providers based on a combination of criteria, since the lowest price of the product is not yet a guarantee for the lowest cost in its lifetime (total cost of operation).

Important questions to ask yourself are:

• how do I make sure that the chosen provider supplies high-quality and health-friendly products?
• how do I ensure that the chosen solutions are energy efficient?
• can I influence the lower consumption of energy, water and natural resources by choosing?
• can I choose a product that is made from (local) secondary raw materials?
• can I choose a product with a longer lifespan?
• how can I contribute to social responsibility - choose a provider that respects the law and has high ethical standards and regulated relations with employees?
• how can I contribute to carbon neutrality by choosing?
• how can I contribute to a smaller amount of waste and waste packaging with the selection?
• do I comply with environmental legislation and the Regulation on green public procurement in public procurement?
• how will the use of products / services affect the health and well-being of employees?
• how will I influence the local community by using the products / services?
• how will the use of products / services affect the environment and biodiversity?
• have I considered sustainable standards when creating technical requirements and criteria?
• how can I reduce the costs of using, maintaining, removing the product?
• what will happen to the product after the end of use?

Pursuing the goals of sustainable development means taking care of:

• environmental aspect (examples in JN: compliance with the Green Public Procurement Regulation, selection of products and services that are less burdensome on the environment, selection of energy-efficient solutions, ban on the use of products containing toxic and health-damaging substances, selection of products that are friendly to humans, animals and the environment, concern for the preservation of biodiversity).
• the social aspect and social criteria - especially in labor-intensive industries such as cleaning services, transportation, and meal preparation, security, repairs and maintenance, and in construction (examples in JN: average monthly gross salary, average employee turnover rate, disability status companies, the proportion of young / elderly / disabled employees, the existence of the company's code of ethics, the proportion of employees with an employment contract for an indefinite period, work allocation methodology, the existence of a collective agreement, membership in the chamber.
• financial aspect – as mentioned, it is necessary to take into account the entire lifetime cost.

Source: Care4Climate

1. (social criterion) IRISH PRISON SOCIETY - 1,200 mattresses are removed from prisons every year. The aim of the contract for 12 institutions was to strengthen the employment of former prisoners, since employment significantly reduces the likelihood of returning to prison.

Combination of criteria for selecting the most economically advantageous provider:

• price (60 %)
• environmental compliance, quality standards (20 %),
• mployment of ex-prisoners (20 %).

2. (environmental criterion) KEMSO or Communal material circle: JN003683/2021 and JN004160/2023 - Green and circular joint JN of the Municipality of Novo mesto and municipal institutes owned by the municipality for ordering hygienic paper with the inclusion of several sustainability criteria:

Combination of criteria for selecting the most economically advantageous provider:

• price (78 %),
• circular criterion of zero waste (22 %): the provider obtains additional points for products for which the manufacturer confirms that he will produce them from locally collected secondary raw materials).