Wedoany.com Report on Mar 17th, The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge recently released a new version of the Catalogue of Technical Specifications for Ecological Public Procurement, aiming to promote the inclusion of environmental standards in public administration tenders and strengthen the leveraging role of green procurement.
The catalogue was launched during an event at the Cuzco Ministerial Complex. Data shows that public procurement accounts for over 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2024, 24.05% of total public expenditure was realized through contract channels, with the tender value for 2025 approaching €116.9 billion. According to the Triennial Report on Public Procurement, Spain awarded 57,864 contracts incorporating ecological criteria in 2023, representing 34.7% of the total. The progress since 2018 reflects a strengthening of administrative bodies' commitment to ecological public procurement.
The new Ecological Public Procurement Catalogue was jointly developed by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. It fulfills the requirements of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law and is integrated into the framework of the 2018-2025 National General Administration Plan for Ecological Public Procurement. This tool provides public managers with specific and legally secure technical specifications to facilitate the integration of environmental standards into procurement documents.
The Ecological Public Procurement Catalogue is structured around green procurement categories prioritized at the European level, including key sectors such as transport, construction, lighting, and public infrastructure. Each technical sheet includes environmental specifications at different levels and verification mechanisms to ensure their effective application in procurement procedures. By incorporating environmental requirements, ecological public procurement not only improves environmental performance but also steers the economy towards a more sustainable and resilient model.
The procurement capacity of the public sector becomes a tool that can significantly influence market behavior. When administrations prioritize sustainable solutions, it incentivizes companies to develop more efficient technologies and adapt their production processes to sustainability standards. This orientation helps reduce economic vulnerability and lower costs associated with future environmental impacts, thereby driving the green procurement transformation.
