15 Oct Study visit to the Netherlands – Green Public Procurement

October 8-12, 2018, The Netherlands

The Public Procurement Office with the support of the Project has organized, in cooperation with the Dutch organization of BIZOB (the Bureau for Purchasing and Tendering of South Brabant), a study visit related to the environmental aspects in public procurement in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands was chosen as a host country for a study visit related to green public procurement (GPP) because the Dutch public procurement system is well known in the European Union for its very advanced level of application of environmental criteria in public procurement. Dutch examples of successful implementation of GPP are very often referred to in various publications produced by the European Commission and OECD.

Seven representatives of the Public Procurement Office and two of the Republic Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedure participated in the study visit.

During the study visit the participants visited the headquarters of BIZOB in Oirschot, VRBZO (the Safety Region in Eindhoven), the municipalities of Laarbeek, Bladel as well as other public procurement related institutions in The Hague.

Meeting with BIZOB was an opportunity to learn about the role of BIZOB and its support provided to municipalities of the region in correct implementation of public procurement procedures, including application of green criteria in selection of economic operators and award of public contracts.

In Laarbeek the delegation was hosted by the mayor Mr Frank van der Meijden (as published here) who is also a Chairman of BIZOB. The meeting was a perfect opportunity to learn more about BIZOB and application of sustainable public procurement (both green procurement as well as procurement taking into account social considerations).

The meeting with the procurement staff of VRBZO was a chance to learn about coordination of procurement activities related to ensuring and protection of public safety in the region of Eindhoven.

In Bladel, the Serbian delegation was acquainted with the preparation and implementation of the project related to Multifunctional Accommodation (MFA), in particular its aspects related to public procurement procedure and inclusion of environmental related consideration in the construction of MFA.

The meeting with the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Hague was an opportunity to obtain general information about the Dutch public procurement system in the Netherlands, including information about challenges faced during the process of implementation of EU 2014 Public Procurement Directives.

During the visit at the Commission of Procurement Experts the participants learnt about the organisation of the public procurement review system in the Netherlands, and in particular about the role of Commission in the alternative review system.

Finally, the delegation was received by the Centre of Expertise on Public Procurement (PIANOo) when they learnt about the role of PIANOo in dissemination of information about public procurement in the Netherlands through the publication of guidelines, organisation of trainings and roundtable discussions.

The study visit was extremely fruitful and enabled its participants to obtain information about the theoretical and practical aspects of implementation of green procurement which will be of use in further dissemination of knowledge on green procurement across Serbia.