Source of the article: Eco-Innovation Action Plan website, European Commission.

Austria's Federal Procurement Agency has gained Europe-wide recognition for innovation-friendly use of public procurement. In October 2015, the agency picked up a Public Procurement of Innovation award from the Procurement of Innovation Platform. By using their purchasing power to choose environmentally friendly goods, services and works, public authorities can make an important contribution to sustainable consumption and production.

The Austrian procurement was innovative in both its procedure and the object of the procurement: a wastewater treatment system for the Austrian Mint in Vienna. The procurement procedure was broken down into three phases. First, bidders provided their company credentials in relation to the objectives of the procurement. Second, bidders provided initial offers, which contained a full breakdown of the environmental benefits of what they were offering. Based on the outcome of this phase, suppliers were invited to submit final offers.

Cool evaporation

The successful bidder was Austria's Schell Group, whose Italian subsidiary, Italschell, has developed a treatment system based on the passing of wastewater through a near vacuum, so that it evaporates at a lowered temperature (40 degrees Celsius). Evaporation allows the separation of the water from any contaminants in the water. The water is subsequently condensed, enabling 97% of it to be reclaimed and reused. The separated contaminants, such as metals, can also be recycled more easily.

The process saves energy because of the lower temperature needed for the water to evaporate, and significantly cuts down water use by enabling reuse of wastewater.

Innovative procurement

Other procurement projects considered for the award included a major public procurement exercise in Italy (worth nearly a billion euro) to modernise buildings and reduce their energy use and emissions, and a river management contract in the Netherlands.

The Public Procurement of Innovation Award is part of the Procurement of Innovation Platform, which is coordinated by the ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability network — an association of cities, local and metropolitan governments. The European Commission has provided support for the initiative.

It is the second time that the Public Procurement of Innovation Award has been given. In 2014, the award went to a large Dutch hospital for its procurement of a system involving robots for the cost- and environmentally-efficient cleaning of hospital beds.

Green Public Procurement has a key role to play in the EU's efforts to become a more resource-efficient economy. It can help create a critical mass of demand for more sustainable goods and services that in turn grows the market — and thus stimulates eco-innovation.

Further information?

• Procurement of Innovation Award 2015
• The European Commision’s website on Green Public Procurement