Sustainable Public Procurement: Policy Framework and Implementation With the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS), German policymakers have laid important foundations for sustainable procurement. But how can this be successfully translated into practice? The CO₂ Performance Ladder is designed to support procurement departments to achieve emission reductions and integrate sustainability into procurement processes. In 2023 the German government adopted the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS), a decisive step toward promoting sustainability and circularity. The NKWS emphasises the role of public procurement as a key lever for fostering circular economy principles. At the same time, work is underway to amend the German public procurement law, which is part of the Transformation Procurement Package (Transformationsvergabepaket). Both initiatives provide important impulses, but the challenge remains: How can these ambitious goals be implemented promptly and effectively? The Transformation Procurement Package: A Step Toward Sustainable Procurement? The amendment of the procurement law, embedded in the Transformation Package aims to make public tenders more transparent, efficient, and future-oriented. The goal is to better integrate sustainability aspects and clarify the legal framework for sustainable procurement. However, it remains unclear when and how these measures will be implemented – particularly in light of the upcoming German federal elections in February 2025. With an annual procurement volume of around 500 billion euros, Germany has the opportunity to achieve significant climate and resource conservation impacts through sustainable public procurement. Yet, this potential remains largely untapped. Studies, such as those by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, show that sustainable criteria are applied in only about 24% of procurement offices. Often, there is a lack of clear guidelines, suitable tools, and the necessary capacities to systematically consider environmental and social criteria. Municipalities, in particular, face significant challenges. They are responsible for numerous procurement decisions but often lack the resources or specific expertise to consistently integrate sustainability aspects. From Strategy to Practice: The Road Ahead Municipalities play a key role in implementing sustainable procurement and are important partners in achieving national climate goals. However, the path to sustainable procurement practices requires significant adjustments: Capacity Building: Municipalities need support to integrate sustainability criteria into their tenders. Practical Tools: There is a lack of accessible and practical tools to systematically evaluate the impact of procurement decisions. Collaboration: Exchange between municipalities, cities, and other procurement offices could create synergies and contribute to more efficient implementation. How the CSCP is Offering Practical Support to Municipalities and Procurement Offices The CSCP addresses these challenges by offering practical approaches through frameworks and tools such as the CO₂ Performance Ladder. Developed by the Foundation for Climate Friendly Procurement and Business (SKAO), the instrument has empowered organisations across Europe to manage and reduce their carbon footprint while gaining competitive advantages in public procurement processes. A key advantage of the Ladder is its dual function: While it assists procurement offices in evaluating tenders, it also provides clear benefits to companies in CO₂-intensive industries as an effective CO₂ management system. As such, it helps organisations reduce emissions while simultaneously improving their competitiveness through process optimisation and resource efficiency. This will also lead to procuring authorities purchasing more circular products and services as these are usually linked to lower life cycle emissions. At the same time, the CSCP promotes knowledge exchange between cities through the recently launched “CCRI Communities of Practice” project. The goal of this project is to bridge gaps in peer-to-peer exchange by establishing dedicated Communities of Practice (CoP). These CoPs foster systematic collaboration between cities and thus contribute to circular transformation. More on circular economy in cities and related projects can be found in the article “Driving Circular Transformation through Cities”. The interest in such practical solutions was reaffirmed during a webinar on held in December 2025. Feedback from participants highlighted a clear demand for support in implementing sustainable procurement operationally. Outlook: Pilot Projects and Collaborative Learning By March 2025, the CSCP plans to implement a pilot project with selected municipalities and organisations in Germany. The goal is to create tangible examples of sustainable procurement and transfer the principles of the Transformation Procurement Package into practice. The path has been charted – now it’s time to bring political frameworks to life. Join us! For further information, please feel free to contact us at co2pl@cscp.org. For further questions, please contact Mike Tabel. Photo © Loet Koreman.