Climate-Friendly in Procurement Law 2026

Definition: Climate-friendly procurement refers to the inclusion in procurement procedures of requirements and criteria designed to minimise the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the service procured and to reduce harmful climate impacts across the entire life cycle of the product or service.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: Directive 2014/24/EU Articles 67–68; GWB § 97 para. 3; BVergG 2018 § 20 para. 5; Federal Climate Protection Act

---

What does climate-friendly procurement mean?

Climate-friendly procurement is a central instrument of sustainable public procurement (Green Public Procurement), with which public contracting authorities use their purchasing power to pursue climate policy objectives. Since public contracting authorities in the EU spend around 14 % of GDP each year on goods, services and works, public procurement performs a significant leverage function in the transformation towards a climate-neutral economy.

"Climate-friendly" must be distinguished from "climate-neutral": climate-friendly services significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions but may still cause some residual emissions, whereas climate-neutral services by definition cause no net emissions.

Anchoring in procurement law

Procurement law allows and, in certain areas, requires climate protection criteria to be taken into account in procurement.

Climate criteria can be introduced at three stages of the procurement procedure:

1. Specifications: technical specifications which define climate-friendly requirements (e.g. energy-efficiency classes, emission limits, material requirements)
2. Eligibility criteria: environmental management certifications (e.g. ISO 14001, EMAS) as an eligibility requirement
3. Award criteria: climate-friendliness as an evaluation criterion (e.g. life-cycle costs including CO₂ costs, greenhouse gas footprint)

Statutory obligations

Climate-friendly criteria are statutorily prescribed in certain areas of procurement.

• Vehicle procurement: Directive 2019/1161/EU (Clean Vehicles Directive) requires public contracting authorities, when procuring vehicles, to comply with certain minimum quotas for clean vehicles
• Buildings: energy-efficiency requirements for the procurement and rental of buildings (Directive 2012/27/EU, Energy Efficiency Act)
• IT products: energy consumption criteria for IT procurement (e.g. Energy Star, EPEAT)

Related terms

• Climate-Neutral
• Sustainable Procurement
• Green Procurement
• Life-Cycle Costs

FAQ

May a contracting authority favour climate-friendly products even where they are more expensive? Yes. Where climate criteria have been laid down as award criteria and life-cycle costs (including environmental costs) are factored into the evaluation, the more climate-friendly bid may be evaluated as the most economically advantageous despite its higher purchase price.

Can climate-friendly requirements be formulated as mandatory requirements? Yes, climate-friendly minimum requirements can be laid down in the specifications as a technical specification, provided they are not discriminatory and are compatible with EU internal market law.

---

Last updated: January 2026 All information is provided without warranty. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in procurement law.