CircPro – Smart Circular Procurement

Public procurements account for a large proportion of European consumption (nearly 20% of EU GDP). They play a major role in the transition towards a circular economy where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste is minimized.

It is important to make the right choices early on in the product creation process, so that materials and components would be suitable, at end-of-life, for repair, refurbishment and re-use, thus helping to close the materials loop. When circular economy principles and criteria are embedded into the procurement of products and/or services, and products will be further processed after use (repaired, reused, modified, components and materials separated), we are dealing with so-called circular procurements.

The CircPro project aims to promote the transition to a more circular economy related national and regional decision making by increasing the implementation of circular procurements.

The main existing barriers regarding implementation of circular procurements are:

• the general lack of knowledge and expertise
• procedural and legal barriers
• procurers’ preconceptions about using products which are made of recycled materials, as well as the lack of them

Activities

12 partners from 10 EU regions and Norway will tackle these challenges by:

• identifying pilots and initiatives, main actors, organizations and networks that could promote the implementation of circular procurements
• identifying main legal and procedural challenges
• providing a meeting place and enhancing a dialogue between procurers and suppliers (both groups are represented in the partnership and stakeholder groups)