proCURE workshop at the Alliance in the Alps symposium 2025

Practical approaches to sustainable public procurement

As part of the 2025 conference, a workshop was held on the Erasmus+ project proCURE, in which the Alliance in the Alps team is involved. The aim of the workshop was to highlight practical approaches to sustainable public procurement and to develop ideas further together with the participants. As with other items on the conference agenda, the focus was on active exchange in small groups.

Practical, low-threshold and implementable: proCURE

The proCURE project partners Angelika Tisch (IFZ Graz, AT), Vivien Führ (agado, DE) and Giorgia Balducci (Fondazione Ecosistemi, IT) kicked off the workshop. They presented the handbook on sustainable procurement developed in the project and explained why it offers particular added value despite the large number of existing guidelines:

It is practical, low-threshold and specifically tailored to the needs of smaller local authorities.

The proCURE tools were also presented, including a decision tree, an overview of relevant labels and a tool for evaluating bids. The train-the-trainer approach, which supports the long-term anchoring of knowledge in administrations, was also presented. The currently favourable legal framework for sustainable procurement was also highlighted positively.

Sustainable procurement as a system: ÖBS Vorarlberg

Ingo Nesensohn from ÖkoBeschaffungsService (ÖBS) Vorarlberg provided further insight into the topic. He outlined his vision of an entire federal state jointly engaging in sustainable procurement and demonstrated how ÖBS has now become an integral part of sustainable procurement in Vorarlberg.

Key arguments for sustainable procurement are the significant market power of the public sector and the life cycle concept: procurement is not only defined by the purchase price, but by the entire product life cycle – according to the principle of as much as necessary, as little as possible. The participatory approach of the ÖBS, supported by a pool of experts, proved to be a decisive factor for success. The first product to be procured sustainably was copy paper – a seemingly small but effective start.

Inter-municipal cooperation in Rupertiwinkel

Lisa Seehuber from ILE Rupertiwinkel presented her experiences with joint inter-municipal procurement. In seven municipalities of the ILE Zukunftsregion, a sustainable ordering platform is operated via the Rupertiwinkelshop. As an eco-model region, the fields of action are deliberately broad.

The idea for the shop was conceived as early as 2020/21. Here, too, they started with copy paper – a start that was not without its challenges, as the product did not meet all requirements. However, this initial setback did not lead to abandonment, but was overcome with additional support. The participatory approach proved to be central to overcoming reservations in the administrations and creating acceptance. Municipalities can thus pool their market power and take on a pioneering role.

Active group work and lively exchange

The workshop was moderated by Katharina Gasteiger, Managing Director of the Alliance in the Alps. The participants were divided into four working groups. There were intensive discussions at the tables, experiences were exchanged and concrete issues were worked on together. Each group presented its results to the plenary. Graphic recording accompanied the workshop and made the content visually visible.