Social:Circular procurement

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Short description: Approach towards a circular economy

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Circular procurement is the procurement of products and services that follow circular economy principles, prioritizing reuse, durability and recycling within supply chains to extend product life cycles and minimize waste. It can involve acquiring goods and services designed for longevity or reuse including shared-use models, the refurbishment of existing assets and products containing recycled materials.[1] According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the practice emphasizes the design, production, use, reuse and recycling of products maximizing value both during use and at end of life.[2] Circular procurement is often considered an aspect of sustainable procurement[3] and can be integrated into supply chain management[4] or public procurement frameworks.

Policy

Circular public procurement contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.[5] In particular SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production includes a target to promote sustainable public procurement practices in line with national policies and priorities.[3]

The European Union Circular Economy Action Plan is a policy framework designed to address the environmental and resource impacts associated with the entire life cycle of products.[1]

Circular procurement can be implemented at several levels:[6]

  • System level: Involves contractual approaches that support circular practices, such as supplier take-back agreements, product-as-a-service models, and cooperation between organizations for sharing/reuse.
  • Supplier level: Relates to how suppliers integrate circular practices into their systems and processes to ensure that their products and services meet circular procurement criteria. Examples include internal and external reuse of products, repairability of products, and supplier take-back systems.
  • Product level: Focuses on the production and end-use of specific products, such as the use of recycled and recyclable materials, resource efficiency, and products that can be disassembled after use.

Objectives and outcomes

Circular procurement may contribute to the objectives of a circular economy within supply chain management.[2][7] A 2014 report by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation projected that broader adoption of circular economy practices could contribute approximately $1 trillion in material savings annually by 2025 and create roughly 100,000 jobs across multiple sectors within five years.[8] A study of 255 Chinese manufacturers found that circular procurement was associated with reduced costs and improved financial performance.[4]

Criticism

A 2024 study examining circular procurement in the Chinese manufacturing sector found that its impact on environmental performance was relatively minimal.[4]

In the construction industry, barriers to the adoption of circular procurement can be categorized as hard or soft. Hard barriers include the absence of circular design practices, reverse logistics systems, standardized frameworks and business models. Soft barriers, on the other hand, encompass limited stakeholder engagement, lack of trust and resistance to organizational change.[1]

Identified risks include vulnerability to greenwashing and insufficient assessment of environmental and social impacts.[9][10][11]

Practical barriers include high infrastructure costs, the absence of standardized definitions or enforcement mechanisms and limited scalability beyond pilot projects. Additional challenges involve overcoming the prevailing perception that circular practices could hinder the economic or material development of a region.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sajid, Zeerak Waryam; Aftab, Usman; Ullah, Fahim (2024-12-01). "Barriers to adopting circular procurement in the construction industry: The way forward". Sustainable Futures 8. doi:10.1016/j.sftr.2024.100244. ISSN 2666-1888. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188824000947. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Xu, Linqi; Jia, Fu; Yan, Fangxu; Chen, Lujie (2022-09-10). "Circular procurement: A systematic literature review". Journal of Cleaner Production 365. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132845. ISSN 0959-6526. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622024398. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Public procurement for a circular economy: Good practice and guidance. EU Commission. 2017.  Content is copied from this source, which is © European Union, 1995-2018. Reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Farooque, Muhammad; Zhang, Abraham; Choi, Tsan-Ming; Hartley, Janet L.; Liu, Yanping (2024-10-01). "Antecedents and performance outcomes of circular procurement: An empirical study in China". Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management 30 (4). doi:10.1016/j.pursup.2023.100882. ISSN 1478-4092. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1478409223000705. 
  5. ↑ "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development | Department of Economic and Social Affairs". https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda. 
  6. ↑ Jones, Mervyn; Sohn, Iben Kinch; Bendsen, Anne-Mette Lysemose (2017). Circular Procurement Best Practice Report. ICLEI Europe. http://www.sppregions.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/Resources/Circular_Procurement_Best_Practice_Report.pdf. 
  7. ↑ Qazi, Asad Ali; Appolloni, Andrea (2022-09-01). "A systematic review on barriers and enablers toward circular procurement management". Sustainable Production and Consumption 33: 343–359. doi:10.1016/j.spc.2022.07.013. ISSN 2352-5509. Bibcode: 2022SusPC..33..343Q. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352550922001877. 
  8. ↑ Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2014). "Towards the Circular Economy: Accelerating the scale-up across global supply chains". World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ENV_TowardsCircularEconomy_Report_2014.pdf. 
  9. ↑ Tátrai, Tünde; Diófási-Kovács, Orsolya (2021-09-01). "European Green Deal – the way to Circular Public Procurement" (in en). ERA Forum 22 (3): 523–539. doi:10.1007/s12027-021-00678-2. ISSN 1863-9038. 
  10. ↑ Khan, Owais; Hinterhuber, Andreas (2025-04-03). "An experimental study on the susceptibility of purchasing managers to greenwashing" (in en). Scientific Reports 15 (1): 11426. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-94482-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 11968802. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94482-4. 
  11. ↑ Granickas, Karolis (2020-07-14). "How to tell green procurement from greenwashing" (in en-US). https://www.open-contracting.org/2020/07/14/how-to-tell-green-procurement-from-greenwashing/. 
  12. ↑ "Against wasted politics: A critique of the circular economy | Ephemeral Journal" (in en). https://ephemerajournal.org/contribution/against-wasted-politics-critique-circular-economy. 

Further reading



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