About the Book
This book provides the first comprehensive appraisal of the paradigm shift towards mandatory sustainability requirements in EU public procurement law.
Traditionally, EU public procurement law focused on ‘how to buy’, dictating procedural rules so that public buyers in the Member States did not discriminate against suppliers and service providers from other Member States. Mandatory green and social requirements mean that, with a view to achieving sustainable development goals and mitigating climate change, the EU will limit this discretionary power for public buyers, pushing them to acquire more sustainable goods and services.
Based on legal analysis informed by economic perspectives, the book aims to contribute to an understanding and critical discussion of the EU legislator’s move towards regulating ‘what to buy’. The book discusses the role of the Public Procurement Directives in relation to this paradigm shift, as well as various other sectoral legislative instruments that have been revamped or newly introduced in light of the European Green Deal.
The paradigm shift is analysed from different perspectives, including subsidiarity, alternative regulation, economics and public purchasing.
The book includes novel sectoral studies on transport, food, clothing, and construction, discussing how change is taking place and what its major challenges are for the future. Chapters on Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and more, offer case studies of Member States that have already introduced mandatory requirements and highlight lessons learnt.
This is an essential book for professionals working with public procurement law in academia and practice, and to those engaged in achieving public policy objectives in light of climate change and social injustice.
Table of Contents:
Part 1: Foundations of the Paradigm Shift - Towards Mandatory Sustainability Requirements in EU Public Procurement
1. Shifting Towards Mandatory Sustainability Requirements in EU Public Procurement Law: Context, Relevance and a Typology, Willem Janssen (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
2. Climate Change and Public Procurement: Are We Shifting the Legal Discourse? Marta Andhov (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and Federica Muscaritoli (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
3. Subsidiarity Lost Along the Way? EU Public Procurement Legislation on the Road to Sustainability, Ton van den Brink (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
4. Mandatory Requirements in Sustainable Public Procurement: The Economic Perspective, Enrique Carreras (University of Turin, Italy) and Davide Vannoni (University of Torino, Italy)
5. Coercive, Mimetic and Normative Influences on the Uptake of Sustainable Public Procurement: An Institutional Perspective, Fredo Schotanus (Utrecht University, the Netherlands) and Ruben Nicolas (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
6. Regulating the Producer Instead of the Procurer – The EU Sustainable Products Initiative and Extended Producer Responsibility as Ways to Foster the Transition to a Circular Economy, Chris Backes (Utrecht University, the Netherlands) and Marlon Boeve (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
Part 2: Sectoral Scrutiny – Mandatory Sustainability Requirements in Current and Future EU (Sectoral) Regulation
7. Charge of the Light Brigade? The Clean Vehicles Directive and the Batteries Regulation, Abby Semple (Greenville Procurement Partners, Ireland)
8. Food: Mandatory EU Public Procurement Criteria for Food after the Farm to Fork Strategy, Hanna Schebesta (Wageningen University, the Netherlands) and Maria José Plana Casado (Wageningen University, the Netherlands)
9. Textiles and Clothing: Mandatory Social Requirements as the Way Forward? Malgorzata Koszewska (Lodz University of Technology, Poland) and Jeanne Svensky Ligte (Lodz University of Technology, Poland)
10. Transforming the Construction Sector Through Minimum Requirements, Dorothy Gruyaert (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Veerle Pissierssens (Lawyer, Belgium)
Part 3: Member State Experiences – Mandatory Sustainability Requirements on the Member State Level
11. Italy: Leading the Way Towards Mandatory Sustainable Public Procurement through Minimum Environmental Criteria, Guilia Botta (University of Milan, Italy)
12. The Netherlands: Obligations to Justify the Lowest Price and to Create as Much Societal Value as Possible, Paul Heijnsbroek (Straatman Koster, the Netherlands)
13. Spain: Transitioning Towards Sustainable Public Procurement Mandatory Requirements, Ximena Lazo Vitoria (University of Alcalá, Spain)
Part 4: Future Perspectives – The Future of Sustainable Public Procurement
14. Mandatory Requirements in Public Procurement Law: The Role of Remedies, Courts and Public Interest Litigation, François Lichère (University of Jean Moulin Lyon 3, France) and Oriane Sulpice (University Lumière Lyon 2, France)
15. Collective Reflections on the Future of Mandatory Sustainable Public Procurement, Roberto Caranta (University of Turin, Italy) and Willem Janssen (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
About the Author :
Willem Janssen is Associate Professor in European and Dutch Public Procurement Law, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
Roberto Caranta is Professor of Law at the University of Turin, Italy.
