23 July 2018
The scene is set for the 2018 Procura+ Awards, with 12 candidates now through to the next round of selection in the run up to the EcoProcura conference in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, where the winners will be unveiled.
With four entries for each category, the scene is set for a close contest before the winners and runners-up are announced during the awards ceremony at the EcoProcura conference, set to take place on 3-5 October this year.
In the Sustainable Procurement of the Year category, the four entries are the City of Aalborg, Bath and North East Somerset Council, the Government of Flanders and Skane region in Sweden. These municipalities and regions are setting the benchmark for a range of sustainable procurements, including circular school furniture for a healthy learning environment, supporting small food producers while offering healthy and sustainable school meals, a supply chain influencing framework contract for sustainable office supplies, and stimulating innovative bio-based product development for the healthcare sector.
For Innovation Procurement of the Year, France’s Auvergne region goes toe to toe with the cities of Copenhagen, Cork and Rotterdam. These initiatives include drives to green public transportation and providing affordable public housing.
Finally, the Procurement Initiative of the Year will be chosen from another four high-level candidates comprising Barcelona City Council, Helsinki Region Environmental Service Authority, Transport for London and the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
This year’s jury is comprised of high-level representatives with vast experience in procurement practice and policy making. Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of Malmö and Procura+ Network Chair, Janos Bertok, Head of the Public Sector Integrity Division at the OECD, and Marzena Rogalska, Acting Director of the European Commission’s DG Grow are all taking part in the judging process.
Commenting on the record number of entries for this year’s awards, Procura+ Award Jury Chair Mark Hidson said: “We were incredibly impressed by the quality of all applications this year. All of the entries reflected the great strides that public authorities across Europe are making in sustainable, circular, strategic and innovation procurement.
As Global Director of ICLEI’s Procurement Centre, Mr Hidson also said that other public authorities could be inspired by the quality in these initiatives. He added: “It was an exciting set of entries to judge and choosing the shortlist has been a real challenge. But all entrants should be congratulated on their work.”
For the 2018 Procura+ Awards, the winners’ category Procurement Initiative of the Year has been added, in order to recognise effective actions such as strategies, tools or projects which have been harnessed to achieve truly outstanding procurement.
Last year’s Procura+ Awards saw Finland’s Hyvinkää Municipality scoop the Sustainable Procurement of the Year, while the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands and Public Health Wales won awards for Innovation Procurement of the Year and Tender procedure of the Year respectively.
For more information on the 2018 awards, visit the Procura+ website.
Image copyright: The 2017 Procura+ Award winners by "Raigo Pajula"