Sèvre & Loire, a French regional authority bringing together 11 municipalities, launched in 2024 a joint procurement procedure to award a single-supplier framework agreement for the supply of administrative materials, covering office stationery, small office equipment and paper. Seeking to embed environmental considerations into routine purchases, Sèvre & Loire carried out market engagements and needs assessments to understand market capacity and to shape realistic environmental and functional criteria

The preparatory work was complemented by a newly developed “eco-responsible needs definition sheet” and led to specific technical and environmental requirements in each lot to meet sustainability standards. Lot 1, Office supplies, was the largest one in terms of volume and financial value. It required among other things suppliers to specify which products were eco-labelled, recycled or reusable, and to demonstrate their compliance with the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law. Lot 2, Small office equipment, included requirements focused on durability, reparability and material quality to reduce replacement needs. Products had to be robust and fit for repeated use, repairable, discouraging disposable or short-life equipment. Regarding Lot 3, Paper, all paper references had to comply with the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law and carry recognised environmental certifications (e.g. EU Ecolabel, FSC, or PEFC or equivalent), and be proven by manufacturer documentation.

To ensure a coherent environmental approach across the entire framework agreement Sèvre & Loire, also developed a set of requirement applicable to all three Lots. Suppliers had to indicate the percentage of recycled content, reuse features and/or if the product is part of an EPR scheme, and provide the relevant documentation to substantiate their claims. Furthermore, the offer descriptions had to show that bidders avoided over-packaging, favoured bulk deliveries, minimised unnecessary transport and used recyclable or reusable packaging whenever possible. An online ordering platform served the entire joint purchasing group. The platform had to highlight eco-labelled and Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law-compliant products, provide detailed sustainability information for each item, and generate usage and monitoring data to support reporting on green purchasing

The contract, awarded to two local service-oriented companies, produced in the end the desired results. The introduction of a digital ordering platform and standardised catalogues did help make sustainable procurement the default, while the systematic integration of the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy legislation has made everyday products more sustainable. Finally, the packaging requirements helped reduce single-use plastics and packaging waste.

For more details on the development of the tender and the main lessons learnt, take a look at the in-depth case study featured in the latest GPP Newsletter.