Technology-neutral green procurement in practice - an example from Swedish waste management

Waste Manag Res. 2012 May;30(5):519-23. doi: 10.1177/0734242X12437566. Epub 2012 Mar 23.

Abstract

Green public procurement has been criticized for its excessive reliance on detailed technology specifications, which can distort incentives in the short term and discourage innovation in the longer term. Economists therefore tend to prefer technology-neutral procurement, which rewards outcomes rather than technologies. However, technology-neutral procurement can also be problematic in practice. The present study investigated green public procurement of waste management, a rapidly growing field. In one of the most sophisticated models for technology-neutral procurement applied in Sweden in recent years, different environmental impacts were assigned weights, but no weight was given to the particular technology employed. Even here, however, potential inefficiencies were found where the scoring rule could have led to arbitrary, and presumably unwanted, outcomes. Explicitly assigning monetary surcharges to desirable and undesirable environmental effects may be a better way to reach environmental targets.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Conservation of Natural Resources*
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Sweden
  • Waste Management*