1. European Commission - DG ENV.D.3 The role of Eco-labels in green public procurement Paul Speight DG Environment D.3 European Commission

2. European Commission - DG ENV.D.3 Structure of presentation l Legal situation under Directives m Interpretative communication of 4 July 2001 m Revision of public procurement Directives m Helsinki bus case l Practical situation m Situation of public purchasers m Advantages of using Eco-labels in procurement m Context - Eco-labels one tool amongst many

3. European Commission - DG ENV.D.3 Commission ’s view on how to use Eco-labels legally l Set out in interpretative communication (4/7/01) l Eco-label criteria can be used to inspire technical specifications where appropriate m purchaser can use some or all of the criteria, they can cut and paste or just use as a starting point, etc m criteria that give an economic advantage to the contracting authority can be used at the award stage l Possession of an Eco-label certificate can be accepted as a means of proof (other means must also be accepted)

4. European Commission - DG ENV.D.3 Developments in the legal situation l Revision of the public procurement Directives m Possibility of using Eco-label explicitly set out m Characteristics of appropriate Eco-labels defined l ‘ Helsinki bus ’ case (C-513/99) m Could modify the situation on the kinds of criteria that can be used at the award stage

5. European Commission - DG ENV.D.3 Practical situation - advantages of Eco-labels l Public purchasers lack time and expertise m It is difficult to find or develop appropriate life cycle based environmental criteria m Use of Eco-labels saves time and provides purchaser with rational information that has been through a stakeholder process m Alternative to Eco-label criteria can sometimes be guesswork - worse for business l Using Eco-labels in green public procurement helps support the label

6. European Commission - DG ENV.D.3 Use of Eco-label in context l One of several sources of information + methods of proof m EPDs, EMS, Databases, handbooks l Commission working on two such tools m Practical Handbook m Information database l We will know more about the use of Eco-labels when we have the results of a planned survey on green purchasing - start 2003