Bucharest, March 16, 2023. How important are social and environmental procurement from the perspective of public institutions? And from the perspective of the business environment? These are just two of the main topics discussed at the “Social and Environmental Impact Awards Gala 2022” event, held on March 9th in Bucharest, where the guide on social and environmental impact procurement made by companies was also presented.
Due to their role in this sector last year, with positive medium and long-term impact, three public institutions (out of the six enrolled) – Brașov City Hall (Award for Social and Environmental Impact Procurements), Cluj County Council (Award for Environmental Impact Procurements), “Onisifor Ghibu” Theoretical High School from Sibiu (Award for Social Procurements) – and four private companies (out of the seven enrolled) – Ana Hotels (Award for Social Procurements), Decomar Logistic (Award for Social Procurements), Nhood (Award for Strategy), Oltenia Distribution (Award for Environmental Impact Procurements) – were awarded.
“We aimed, through this event, to promote public institutions and companies that have made social and/or environmental impact purchases. The awards given at the Gala not only represent a recognition of their efforts in the direction of social and environmental impact purchases, but also an example meant to inspire other organizations, institutions, and companies,” said Loreta Isac, project manager at the Center for Not-for-Profit Law Association, one of the event’s initiators.
Flavia Boghiu, deputy mayor of Brasov City Hall (the awarded public institution), believes that any municipality interested in the future of the community must consider the impact of its activities. “By decentralizing the ‘Bread and Milk’ program from the Brasov County Council to the Brasov City Hall, we aimed to offer the children from Brasov schools and kindergartens quality and healthy products. As secondary objectives, we wanted to support local producers and comply with green procurement principles, with respect for the environment,” says Flavia Boghiu.
“The goal of the competition and, implicitly, of the Gala, is to somehow draw attention to social enterprises in Romania and their role in implementing social and environmental policies in this country,” says sociologist Claudia Petrescu.
According to the “Public Policy Report” (presented in the same formal setting as the Gala), the high level of funds allocated for procurement in general, at the level of public institutions and companies, has a direct effect on recalibrating development strategies and achieving sustainability objectives in both the public and private sectors. “The business environment has understood this, with large companies introducing evaluation criteria related to the environment, transparency, or social issues in selecting their suppliers. With a percentage of around 14% of GDP at the EU level, public procurement has become an important tool for achieving the public policy objectives of member states,” the report says.
“Approximately 50% of Ateliere Fără Frontiere’s revenue comes from contracts we have with various companies, on the part of WEEE collection and Remesh product orders, and we are extremely pleased that more and more companies, as well as public institutions, are turning to such green procurement. We hope that, with the launch of the new guide dedicated to social and environmental impact procurement by companies, more and more actors in the private sector will turn to services provided by social enterprises,” said Damien Thiery, CEO of Ateliere Fără Frontiere.”
The event on March 9, 2023, attended by personalities from the public and private sectors, also marked the conclusion of the “Social and Environmental Impact Procurements” project implemented by the Center for Not-for-Profit Law Association in partnership with the CIVITAS for Civil Society Foundation in Cluj and the Ateliere Fără Frontiere Association (AFF), with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund Romania, a program funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014-2021.
The awards were offered by Yves Rocher, Loncolor, Marionnaud Paris, De Neagra, and OilRight.
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About the event
“The 2022 Gala Awards for Social and Environmental Impact” took place within the framework of the project Social and Environmental Impact Procurements implemented by the Center for Not-for-Profit Law Association in partnership with the Civitas Foundation for Civil Society Cluj and the Ateliere Fără Frontiere Association with financial support from the Active Citizens Fund Romania, a program financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA Grants 2014-2021. The project aimed to address the problem of extremely low implementation of legislative provisions regarding reserved acquisitions, acquisitions with social clauses and green acquisitions in public acquisitions, as well as those made by companies. The main goal is to increase the level of implementation of acquisitions with social and environmental impact in the public and private sectors, to improve social inclusion of people from vulnerable groups and to increase the quality of life of the population by reducing negative effects on the environment.
About the Active Citizens Fund Romania Program
The Active Citizens Fund Romania Program is funded through the EEA Grants 2014-2021. The overall objective of the Grants is to reduce economic and social disparities and strengthen bilateral relations between the 15 beneficiary states and the donor states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway). The program is managed by a consortium composed of the Civil Society Development Foundation, the Partnership Foundation, the Resource Center for Roma Communities, the PACT Foundation, and Frivillighet Norge, which act as the Fund Operator designated by the Financial Mechanism Office of the EEA and Norway Grants. The Active Citizens Fund Romania aims to strengthen civil society and active citizenship and increase the capacity of vulnerable groups. With a total allocation of 46,000,000 euros, the program aims to develop the long-term sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector, intensifying its role in promoting democratic participation, active citizenship, and human rights, while also strengthening bilateral relations with donor states Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. For more information about the Active Citizens Fund in Romania, please visit www.activecitizensfund.ro. For more information about the EEA and Norway Grants, please visit www.eeagrants.ro. “We are working together for a green, competitive, and inclusive Europe.”