Green Public Procurement National Action Plan 2019-2025.

Malta Green Public Procurement National Action Plan 2019-2025 is a national sectoral action plan aiming to reduce the environmental impact of the workings of government through the goods and services it purchases. The Green Public Procurement (GPP) is seen as complementing and encouraging the attainment of other environmental objectives through the inclusion of criteria by means of which natural resources are better managed.
From an environmental perspective GPP criteria reduce the overall environmental impact of procurement whilst creating a market for innovative and competitive substitute products which in turn command the creation of green jobs. Such metamorphosis is being addressed through specific criteria aimed at waste reduction, water and energy efficiency as well as climate change adaptation. To make environment more sustainable GPP includes measures for reducing unnecessary waste and improved resource management through introduction of criteria for office building design, construction, management and maintenance, and road design; provisions for the availability of warranties, which secure increased durability, and spare parts, which promote repair and upgrading initiatives; and lengthening the life cycle of products; reduction in use of plastic packaging and other containment methods or materials used for serving in the hospitality and catering industry; and stressing a shift from recovery to recycling in the construction sector. Regarding water availability, GPP is trying to bring New Water closer to the agricultural and industrial sector with a view of providing an alternative source to groundwater abstraction, and encouraging the development of technology which maximizes the utilization of water per treatment. Regarding energy efficiency, GPP has incorporated high energy efficiency standards in the specifications for goods and services to be purchased.
GPP also presents several policy responses that may contribute towards addressing the threat posed by climate change. GPP provides various measures to a certain and variable degree for a tender or project to be considered as climate proof. For example, the GPP criteria for transport can clearly be classified as contributing to emission reductions since the technical specifications specify the fleet average of the vehicles in terms of CO2 emissions.
Regarding governance the GPP function is being implemented by the GPP office within the Ministry for Sustainable Development the Environment and Climate Change. The GPP office screens all tenders to be issued by public contracting authorities to verify their compliance with GPP criteria. Whilst MSDEC shall continue to take a leading role in the policy development and oversight of the GPP function, it has to be recognized that all public sector contracting authorities have a shared collective responsibility of contributing towards the wider objective of greening the economy. To this end all public sector contracting authorities will assume the GPP function in recognition of its cross- cutting nature and its contribution towards this goal.