Eco-friendly public procurement as a factor of sustainable economic growth

At the final stage of the implementation of the national Ecology project (2019-2024) and in the context of the transition to a new stage of state environmental policy related to the launch of the Environmental Well-being project (2025-2030), the importance of tools capable of ensuring the effective use of budgetary resources is significantly increasing. In this regard, special attention is drawn to environmentally oriented public procurement, which can act as one of the mechanisms for sustainable economic growth in the regions [1]. However, as the researchers note, the GPP model in Russia is at the initial stage of institutionalisation and requires further scientific understanding. The relevance of the topic is confirmed by such works as M.A. Egorova [2], who explores the foreign experience of legal regulation of «green» procurement and the possibility of adapting European policy approaches, M.Y. Pogudaeva, I.P. Gladilina and S.A. Sergeeva in their work on the structural elements of the domestic model of procurement greening [3], Ю. Н. Васильев, О. В. Батова и другие, изучили нормативно-правовую базу “зеленых” закупок в РФ и выявили пробелы требований [4], as well as G.I. Parkhutik and D.A. Gusev, substantiating the role of the green economy as a driver of regional development and systematizing tools to stimulate it [5]. In contrast to the traditional paradigm focused on minimizing the initial maximum contract price, the Green Public Procurement model shifts the focus to estimating the total cost of the product life cycle (LCC), which allows taking into account operating, service and disposal costs, as well as potential environmental damage, thereby forming the long-term economic efficiency of budget investments.

The relevance of the topic is due to the need to increase the efficiency of budget expenditures, ensure transparency of environmental costs and accelerate the transition to a circular economy to reduce the burden on the environment.

The aim of the work is to identify the potential of environmentally friendly public procurement as a factor of sustainable economic growth and to develop mechanisms to increase their effectiveness.

Research objectives:

1. To reveal the concept of green public procurement;
2. To analyze the regulatory framework in the Russian Federation;
3. To investigate the practice of applying eco-friendly procurement abroad;
4. To determine the impact on the economy;
5. To develop recommendations for improving the system.

Research methods: analysis, synthesis, comparative method, statistical analysis.

Introduction.

The Green Public Procurement (GPP) is a tool within the framework of environmental policy and sustainable growth strategy, which is used by government agencies to stimulate the development of environmentally friendly industries and consumption of goods and services while preserving the ecological well–being of the environment and public space. This model assumes that public procurement can be used to stimulate environmentally friendly production and consumption while reducing the negative impact on the environment [3]. Eco-friendly public procurement is reviewed by international organizations (UN, OECD, European Commission) as a key mechanism of  “green” growth, which allows simultaneously solving the tasks of resource conservation, reducing anthropogenic pressure and stimulating innovation activity.

Consideration of environmental requirements in public procurement is becoming a public policy tool aimed at promoting sustainable production and consumption patterns. Governments can influence market demand by taking environmental considerations into account when making procurement decisions, encourage the introduction of environmentally responsible technologies, and support long-term economic development by reducing the burden on natural ecosystems. International experience shows that green public procurement (GPP) has become an effective policy mechanism in many countries. Instead of acting solely as an environmental initiative, GPP promotes a number of policy goals, including reducing air, water and soil pollution, phasing out the use of hazardous substances in production processes, minimizing industrial waste and landfill waste, and increasing the use of renewable and resource-saving materials in the production of goods and services. [6].

In the Russian Federation, the legal regulation of «green» public procurement is mainly based on two legislative acts: Federal Law No. 44-FZ «On the Contract System for Procurement of Goods, Works and Services to Meet State and Municipal Needs» and Federal Law No. 223-FZ “On the Procurement of Goods, Works, and Services by Certain Types of Legal Entities”. Services for state and municipal needs». and municipal needs» and the services of certain types of legal entities. » The first one establishes a general legal framework governing all stages of the public procurement process, from planning to contract execution and monitoring, and allows procurement authorities to include environmental characteristics in procurement specifications, if necessary [7]. The latter applies to state-owned enterprises and other authorized organizations, giving them greater flexibility in meeting environmental requirements through their internal procurement rules and corporate procurement policies [8].

Despite the consistent expansion of the regulatory framework, which includes the introduction of environmental requirements for certain categories of goods and the development of an eco-labeling system, the Russian model of “green” procurement (GPP) is at the stage of institutional formation. The main limitations remain the lack of a unified mandatory system of environmental criteria and a unified methodology for calculating the total life cycle cost (LCC). Currently, environmental requirements apply mainly to individual types of products and do not cover the contract system as a whole [4]. Nevertheless, the development of regulatory and methodological approaches to environmental performance assessment forms a comprehensive model for greening public procurement.

Additional regulation is provided by a number of acts:

1. Federal Law No. 7-FZ — establishes economic mechanisms for stimulating environmental activities;
2. Federal Law No. 261-FZ — establishes requirements for energy efficiency of products;
3. Fundamentals of state policy in the field of environmental development of the Russian Federation until 2030 — defines the strategic priority of greening procurement;
4. The EAEU technical Regulations and GOST define the requirements for the quality, safety and environmental friendliness of products.

Despite the fact that the legal framework for «green» public procurement has expanded, important legislative gaps remain. The main problems include:

1. Lack of a legislative definition and a single list of environmental characteristics of products (limited range of goods).
2. The lack of mandatory application of environmental criteria (they are mostly voluntary).
3. The lack of regulation of the methodology for assessing the environmental friendliness of goods and services.
4. Insufficient consideration of the full environmental impact of products (including environmental damage at all stages of the life cycle).
5. The lack of a single methodological document or standard for «green» procurement (is of a recommendatory nature).
6. Fragmented legal regulation and the absence of a separate law on “green” procurement.

Thus, despite the existence of a regulatory framework, the current legislation does not ensure the full and systematic implementation of “green” public procurement and requires further development and detail.

Green public procurement contributes to achieving a balance between the three key components of sustainable development — economic, social and environmental. The economic aspect covers costs at all stages of the life cycle of products and services: from production and operation to disposal. The social component addresses issues of working conditions, respect for human rights and ensuring social justice. The environmental aspect includes the impact on the environment: the volume of emissions into the atmosphere and discharges into water bodies, the impact on the climate, the conservation of biodiversity, as well as the rational use of natural resources.

Data analysis of the Unified Information System in the field of Procurement (UIS), conducted by the “Kontur service.Procurement”, allows us to identify multidirectional trends in the budget and corporate segments of eco-friendly procurement in 2023-2024 in table 1, compiled according to the website. The study covers the categories of procurement related to environmental protection: wastewater treatment, waste treatment and disposal, environmental protection measures, treatment equipment, environmental research.

Table 1

Dynamics of eco-friendly purchases in the Russian Federation

Indicator	2023	2024	Percentage change
According to 44-FZ
Volume, billion rubles.	44.66	44.84	+0.4 %
Number of procedures, thousand	29.2	31.5	+7.6 %
According to 223-FZ
Volume, billion rubles.	74.5	54.3	-27.1 %
Number of procedures, thousand	13.6	15.3	+12.9 %

As shown by the data in table 1, the dynamics of eco-friendly purchases in Russia is multidirectional. In the budget segment (44-FZ), the volume remained virtually unchanged, with an increase of only 0.4%, while in the corporate sector (223-FZ), financing decreased by more than a quarter (-27.1%). The presented data do not allow us to directly identify the causes of the revealed discrepancy. To understand which institutional mechanism determines the effectiveness of GPP, three countries with established models are compared — Sweden, Germany and the USA. The comparison is based on six parameters: the obligation of environmental criteria, consideration of life cycle (LCC), the distribution of powers between levels of government, the control mechanism, the regulatory framework and the coordinating body.

Table 2

Comparison of GPP models by country

Criteria	Sweden	Germany	USA
Mandatory criteria	Primarily voluntary, with exceptions for EU-derived mandatory rules. National stakeholders increasingly support binding national criteria.	Environmental requirements are based on directives and national laws. The purchase threshold sets the legal regime.	Federal agencies are required to ensure that 95% of new contracts meet the criteria of energy efficiency, water conservation, bio-based or environmental preference, and the priority of multi-attribute «green» products is enhanced.
LCC Accounting	Upphandlingsmyndigheten (Swedish Procurement Agency) has developed LCC, a tool for calculating the cost of a product or service throughout its life cycle.	UBA provides free LCC tools for 7 product groups (computers, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.).	LCC is applied selectively: mainly in categories with high operating costs (energy, water, maintenance), whereas for short-term goods the initial price assessment prevails (it is a federal requirement for purchases of energy-consuming equipment).
Distribution of powers	Decentralized execution within a harmonized national legal framework, municipalities retain procurement autonomy but follow national guidelines.	The legislative competence of the federal states, which is enabled by the Act Against Restraints of Competition (GWB). This allows the states to enact their own regulations for environmentally friendly procurement that go beyond federal legal requirements.	Agency-level implementation: Individual federal agencies develop their own Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans (SSPP) and acquisition strategies within executive branch targets.
The control mechanism	The SPA (Swedish Procurement Agency) monitors the implementation of the national strategy through a bi-annual survey sent to all procurement organizations. Extensive procurement statistics are published. Annual procurement reports are publicly available.	Monitoring is carried out through the digital platforms of regional procurement centers, and control includes an audit of compliance with the criteria before and after the execution of the contract. Federal eProcurement Platform (E-Vergabe), Kaufhaus des Bundes (KdB).	FPDS (Federal Procurement Data System) is a centralized database that tracks purchases The SSPP (Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan) is a plan that U.S. federal agencies develop within the framework of sustainability requirements.
Regulatory framework	Swedish Public Procurement Act (2016) — encourages environmental considerations, but does not make them mandatory. National Public Procurement Strategy (2017) — 7 goals, including environmentally responsible procurement, ISO 14040, ISO 14044, ISO 15686-5.	GWB (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen), acts Umweltbundesamt, KNB (Federal Competence Centre for Sustainable Procurement).	EO 14030 (Climate-Related Financial Risk), EO 14057 (Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability), National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) and OMB Circular A119.
Coordinating body	Upphandlingsmyndigheten (Swedish Procurement Agency), Kammarkollegiet (Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency).	Umweltbundesamt (UBA), Kompetenzstelle für nachhaltige Beschaffung (Kompetenzstelle für nachhaltige Beschaffung), Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).	General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT).

The comparison shows that Sweden, Germany and the USA use different approaches to the development of «green» public procurement. Sweden focuses on voluntary environmental criteria and the independence of municipalities, Germany combines federal regulation with land management, and the United States applies more formalized requirements to government agencies.

A common element of the models under consideration is the use of product lifecycle cost estimates. This approach allows you to take into account not only the initial contract price, but also the costs of operation, maintenance and disposal. For Russia, foreign experience is of practical interest, but its application requires adaptation to the national regulatory framework and the development of uniform criteria for environmental procurement. The introduction of such mechanisms can increase the efficiency of budget expenditures and at the same time help reduce the burden on the environment.

The conducted analysis allows us to propose the following measures for the development of environmentally oriented public procurement in Russia:

1. To fix in the framework of 44-FZ the mandatory calculation of the cost of the life cycle for priority categories of purchases, including construction, transport, utility equipment and packaging. The methodology should take into account not only the purchase price, but also the costs of operation, repair and disposal of products.
2. Create an interagency coordination mechanism responsible for developing common environmental criteria, methodological support for customers, and regular evaluation of procurement results. At the same time, regions should be given the opportunity to adapt their requirements to local environmental and economic conditions.
3. Integrate the electronic verification of environmental certificates, declarations and information on environmental labeling into a single information system. This will reduce the risk of distortion of environmental characteristics and increase the transparency of procurement procedures.
4. To supplement the system of mandatory requirements with economic incentives. Regions and customers demonstrating a high level of greening of procurement and achieving proven results are recommended to ensure priority access to subsidies and infrastructure programs.
5. Introduce mandatory disclosure of the final environmental impact of large purchases: the amount of emissions reduced, resources saved, the proportion of recycled materials and the cost of subsequent disposal. Such reporting will make it possible to assess not only the number of «green» contracts, but also their actual outcome.

Taken together, these measures can link environmental requirements with digital controls, budgetary incentives, and an assessment of the real impact of procurement. This creates conditions for a gradual transition from formal accounting of environmental characteristics to an effective model of public expenditure management.

Conclusion.

Environmentally-oriented public procurement has a significant potential to transform budget demand into a tool for sustainable development. However, in Russia, this institution is in its infancy: environmental criteria are voluntary, there is no single methodology for assessing life cycle cost (LCC), and the powers between the levels of government are fragmented. International experience confirms that the effectiveness of GPP is achieved not by declarations, but by mandatory application of environmental requirements, transparency of reporting, digital infrastructure and coordinated distribution of competencies between the center and the regions. The implementation of the proposed measures will reduce transaction costs, generate sustainable demand for green technologies, and synchronize environmental goals with fiscal policy. Further research needs to be focused on the industry calibration of LCC methodologies and the assessment of the macroeconomic effects of the introduction of mandatory environmental quotas.