The second training session on the use of social and environmental criteria in public procurement in Romania will take place online on June 15th and 16th

In order to meet the requirements of specific legislation, as well as to satisfy the identified need through an environmentally friendly and socially impactful approach, the documentation for awarding public procurement contracts must meet certain criteria.

Regarding qualification criteria, economic operators must have sufficient skills to implement the contract from a technical and professional standpoint. In the case of reserved public procurement, the economic operator is a protected workshop or a “social enterprise”, and in the case of green procurement, the operator must benefit from quality assurance systems and environmental management standards.

The technical specifications for goods, services, or works must include social or environmental requirements, such as ecological labeling, energy efficiency requirements, or other requirements provided at the European level. Among the award criteria, evaluation factors must include qualitative, social, and/or environmental aspects related to the subject matter of the public procurement contract/framework agreement. The contract must include clauses regarding packaging, transportation, and, if applicable, social/environmental projects.

Among the main priorities of the European Union in the next decade is the promotion of responsible spending, with social and environmental impact, which contributes to achieving sustainable development goals. By including social and environmental criteria in the procurement process, public institutions can contribute to protecting the environment by purchasing products and services that are friendly to it, and to social development by contracting certain services and products from sheltered workshops or social and inclusion enterprises.

Employees from the technical departments of contracting authorities and those from public procurement departments who prepare, verify, and endorse award documentation are invited to a training session on the use of social and environmental criteria in public procurement in Romania.

The event takes place online, on the Zoom platform, on June 15 – from 13:30 to 17:00, and on June 16, from 10:00 to 13:30, and offers participants the chance to learn more about: specific models and examples of social clauses and criteria of good practice, national and European legislative provisions, circular economy in the context of the Green Deal, and models of good practice environmental clauses and criteria.

The topics will be addressed by Alin Izvoran, public procurement expert, Claudia Petrescu, Center for Not-for-Profit Law Association, Lorita Constantinescu, Ateliere Fără Frontiere, as well as guests from the social economy sector.

Those who wish to participate can register by completing this form by June 13th.

The event is organized within the Social and Environmental Impact Procurement project, carried out by the the Center Not-for-Profit Law Association in partnership with the Civitas Foundation for Civil Society in Cluj and the Ateliere fără Frontiere Association with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund Romania, a program funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the SEE Grants 2014-2021. The aim of the project is to increase the level of implementation of social and environmental impact procurement at the level of public institutions and companies, in order to improve the social inclusion of vulnerable groups, including young people and Roma, and the quality of life of the population by reducing negative effects on the environment. The content of this material does not necessarily represent the official position of the SEE and Norwegian Grants 2014-2021; for more information, visit www.eeagrants.org. “We work together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe.”