Sustainable procurement by the Dutch government

On June 30, 2005 the parliamentary motion by Koopmans/De Krom to realise 100% sustainable procurement by central government by 2010 was adopted by the Dutch House of Representatives.
As of 2006 steps are being taken to implement the motion.
Under the command of the Duch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) sustainability criteria for all relevant product groups (about 80) are being developed.

Vision on sustainable procurement by the MVO Platform

The MVO Platform supports the governments' intention to procure sustainably as of 2010, as a large market party and 'exdmplary consumer', the Dutch government is able to realise a meaningul shift in the market.
According to the MVO Platform, an effective policy on sustainable procurement should be based on the following principles:

Preselection of companies on the basis of sustainability 

This means that only companies who meet the criteria specified (or are working on meeting these) are eligible to compete. This is set against an approach in which sustainability is only given consideration as a criterion alongside price, quality, etc. An important argument – only with preselection can sustainability have a major impact and only with pre-selection are all government suppliers required to truly invest in it and is a ‘level CSR playing field’ created. Only after this do price and qualityconsiderations play a role.

process-based approach

In many international tendering out or commercial chains, a majority of companies cannot comply (fully or partly)with minimum social criteria, environmental standards or internalisation of costs. In this type of case, a process-based approach is crucial to improvement and control via multi-stakeholder initiatives. The preselection referred to above can therefore also take place on the basis of commitment to a multi-stakeholder initiative, for example.
In sectors in which these initiatives, etc., do not yet exist, the government must stimulate these, and ask companies to take part in them. The Initiative for Sustainable Trade (IDH) can play a key function in this.
In addition, it goes without saying that use must be made, when determining the level of assurance of relevant standards and CSR principles which are operating in
practice, of all existing hallmarks, labels, sector codes, etc.

Research on problematic sectors

The government must carry out or commission research into the products in sectors in which the greatest number of sustainability problems occur, and in which it can exercise the greatest influence through its purchasing volume or other means. Such a mapping is crucial for targeted support for improvement plans (for example the new IDH) and the weight to be given to the desired verification when purchasing products or issuing commissions. Insight into what the government purchases and which problems and opportunities for improvement occur there makes it easier for civil society organisations to play their role (research, involvement of stakeholders in developing countries and Eastern European countries, increasing capacity, etc.).

Social criteria

In terms of social criteria, the MVO Platform does not make any distinction between the four fundamental labour norms (freedom of organisation & collective negotiations and absence of child labour, forced labour and discrimination) and the four supplementary basic rights: a living wage, safe and healthy work, an employment contract and no forced, excessive overtime. Mapping out must take place, for each sector and department, of which social criteria are risk factors for a company supplying the government, and relevant criteria and forms of verification must be included for this in the evaluation and/or tender specifications. In the case of government purchasing and contracts abroad, the national legislation must be complied with, unless international standards (social, ecological, etc.) offer greater protection. These criteria can also be found in most of the CSR basic codes.

Small producers

Compliance with labour standards targeted at employees is not applicable in the case of organised small producers/businesses. Fair terms and conditions of trade, participation of stakeholders and
verification form the most important frame of reference.
The eight labour standards do apply to small producers with employees. Flanking
policy of the government with regard to building capacity and (joint) market access for small producers, for example via fair trade, is very important in order to give and continue to give them opportunities in terms of sustainable purchasing by the government.

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