The first day of the SAPIENS Network Advanced Training Course started at the Danish Chamber of Commerce and was nothing short of enlightening. The day was dedicated to exploring the intricate dance between government, industry, and academia in the realm of sustainable public procurement. Here’s a recap of the day’s events.

The day started with Associate Professor Marta Andhov from the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law and Public-private corporation market manager Morten Jung from Dansk Erherv warmly welcoming participants, setting the tone for the day. Their introduction emphasized the importance of the gathering and the collective mission at hand. 

Morten Jung opened the day with insights into public procurement from the lens of the Danish Chamber of Commerce. He shed light on the chamber’s initiatives and their alignment with global sustainability goals. For those unfamiliar, the Danish Chamber of Commerce is a key player in shaping business-friendly policies in Denmark. More about their initiatives can be found here. 

Marta Andhov further explained what the SAPIENS network is and emphasized: 

“The international spirit of the SAPIENS Network underscores a profound truth: sustainable public procurement is our collective passport to a world where sustainability challenges that know no borders are met without borders. 

Photo credit: Regina Mosch

Niels-Christian Holt, Nuuday’s VP of Case Pricing and Bid Management, provided a deep dive into the industry’s viewpoint on public procurement from the supplier side. He stressed the importance of easing down the bidding process for economic operators while also highlighting the current dominance of price over quality and sustainability. Interestingly, he also advocated for more sustainability considerations but also pointed out that such considerations should be aligned with market standards to ensure clarity about what is actually demanded. 

Conversely, Alexander Robert Campbell, Senior Sustainability Consultant from TDC Net, shared his experiences from exceptionally successful corporate procurement practices from the buyer’s side. To be precise, TDC Net, the Danish provider of digital infrastructure, is the first company in the world to receive a validated 2030 net-zero target aligned with climate science using the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi’s) Net-Zero Standard. His main takeaways were: 

1. Leadership is pivotal, needing to set clear directives and allocate resources. 
2. Procurement has a significant yet often overlooked role in addressing climate change. 
3. The focus should shift from just price and quality to achieving value for money and, ultimately, societal value. 
4. Existing standards and benchmarks should be utilized. 
5. Perfectly comparable data across bidders’ products is currently lacking.
6. It’s important to evaluate a bidder’s readiness to tackle climate change. 
7. Rigorous due diligence is crucial in the context of climate change. 
8. Bids can be assessed based on climate criteria without compromising fair competition.
9. Emphasis should be on nurturing suppliers rather than merely excluding those who fall short.

Photo credit: Regina Mosch

Martin Trybus, serving as the Director of Training for the SAPIENS Network, provided a comprehensive overview of both the role of academia and the mission of the SAPIENS Network in the realm of Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP). 

At its core, he stressed that academia’s primary function is research, which ideally leads to tangible outputs. These outputs then undergo a cycle of dissemination, outreach, and training and, ultimately, create a significant impact. The goal is ultimately transformative; it’s about changing the world through knowledge and not merely publishing in elite academic journals. 

Martin Trybus’s quote on the role of academia in SPP: 

“Academia, as usual,  seeks to enhance understanding, generate valuable data, and critically assess existing methodologies, ensuring that knowledge is disseminated effectively.”

Shifting the focus to the SAPIENS Network, it’s a robust consortium comprising 15 researchers spread across 10 universities in 8 countries. These researchers are the backbone of the network, each contributing to the vast knowledge pool in 15 distinct fields related to public procurement. Their research spans a wide array of topics, from Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and global solutions to the circular economy, industry 4.0, collaboration, Life Cycle Costing (LCC), contract performance, human rights, minority rights, climate change and more. The network is dedicated to exploring three specific sectors, delving into five under-researched sustainability goals, and pioneering research on lesser-known instruments that could be utilized for more effective and efficient SPP. Most importantly,, the SAPIENS Network is also focused on training a cohort that is uniquely qualified, preparing them not just for academia but for a world that urgently needs their expertise. 

After Prof. Trybus generally presented the SAPIENS Network it was the turn of PhD researchers to briefly introduce the topics of their research.

Felippe Vilaça Loureiro Santos emphasized the pivotal role of collaboration in SPP. In an inspiring manner, he stated: “Genuine sustainability in procurement blossoms when passion for a sustainable future meets the eager hands ready to build it.” Federica Muscaritoli noted that the EU is a signatory to numerous international climate treaties and has adopted a climate act with mandatory goals. Thus, low-emissions public procurement is another crucial instrument towards reaching climate-neutrality objectives. Ezgi Uysal stressed that merely incorporating sustainability criteria in public procurement is just the starting point, and for SPP to realize its full potential, it needs to be bolstered with robust contract management. Lastly, Laura Trevino Lozano, on behalf of Nadia Sava, stressed that AI offers immense possibilities for enhancing the uptake of SPP, but it also comes with its set of challenges, particularly the risks associated with governance by design. 

After everyone presented what their work was about, the stage was set for the discussion that was chaired by associate professor Marta Andhov and Morten Jung. 

The general themes were: 

1. Where is sustainability on the public procurement agenda? 
2. Opinions on mandatory minimum environmental criteria? 
3. What is the future of SPP?

The panellists generally had concurrent views but from different standpoints. 

For instance, a representative of the association of Danish public purchasers (IKA), Jesper Langkjær pointed out that in practice, sustainability is not taking a central role in public procurement and that economic considerations still take precedence. However, Niels argues that for a sustainable future, public procurers must work on the real art of balancing between all three pillars of sustainability without neglecting a single one of them at the expense of others. 

Prof. Trybus provided his prediction on how the uptake of different sustainability considerations will progress. He argues that green considerations have higher chances of being adopted earlier compared to social considerations due to a lack of standards on what exactly constitutes social purchase and heavier politicization of such considerations. 

Interestingly, all panellists, whether coming from the industry or academia, agreed that reasonable minimum mandatory sustainability requirements in the EU  are very much welcomed. Still, they urge everyone that minimum mandatory requirements that create another barrier to access to public procurement markets should not come at the expense of the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises. 

The first day concluded at the Chamber of Commerce with networking, cake and bubbles.