Historically through all its reforms, the GPA has prioritised non-discrimination as a procurement objective. Only until GPA’s last reform environmental aspects were included. The international instruments like GPA regulating international public procurement has always aimed to open the procurement market of the participating states and are less concerned in promoting sustainability aspects. The latter are coming from the states themselves, like Italy.

There are many factors affecting public procurement and supply chain management practices effectiveness in reaching the intended sustainability goals. One of the key factors for public buyers to integrate supply chain responsibility in their procurement practices is to have an enabling policy and regulatory framework providing clarity and certainty. When they extend sustainability requirements beyond the direct contractors, they can have two main effects on global supply chains: they trigger sustainable management practices by the direct contractor who adapts to meet the requirements of the contracting authority and channels these practices down the supply chain, and can also influence supply chain governance, ultimately influencing sustainability performance. 

From a legal point of view, having a harmonised EU legislation on the concept of circular economy affects the real achievement of a status of actual maturity of circular public procurement (CPP) as a strategic objective of public procurement. As CPP often overlaps with green public procurement (GPP), I consider it necessary to fully understand their scope and implications to identify whether this can significantly impact implementing environmental/circular objectives in the EU Member States. From a practical point of view, by conducting market consultation before a tender and having a clear vision of what circularity activities are pursued in the procurement, CPP limitations can be addressed, and requirements can be met.

I have found that digitalising public procurement should be sequential, building on the pre-existing eProcurement framework. The use of artificial intelligence in public procurement brings about both potential and risks, therefore Member States should currently focus on solutions that lower or mitigate those risks, and bring more advantages. They should focus on a gradual transition towards digital, with data management as core point. 

My research tackles why stakeholders collaborate in sustainable public procurement and how they collaborate. Collaboration between stakeholders has been a relevant driver for sustainable public procurement. For example, at the very beginning of the procurement cyclical process there is an opportunity to collaborate for mutual understanding of needs, which contributes to foster sustainability. My research also provides depth on how to manage organisational changes towards a collaborative sustainable public procurement. 

If we build today a building, it will last a 100 years, and a lot of environmental impacts will not happen today, but rather in the future. Measuring the impact of this building with today’s data would not be correct. So how does this future assessment work? I provide a way through combining an economic, climate and social model

There is an asymmetry between what is promised with the tender and what is performed once the contract is concluded. The lack of motivation of the public buyer to ensure compliance with sustainability clauses results in contractors falling short of their contractual commitments, thereby potentially violating the EU public procurement rules. 

My interviews in Spain suggest that if we aim to enforce labour rights in contracting authorities’ global supply chains then we need to fix the monitoring mechanisms and means of verification.

After analysing contract awards in Spain, one conclusion is that the integration of sustainable award criteria does not affect the positive firm development impacts associated with securing a government contract. On the other hand, these criteria are linked with less bids overall, and there is also evidence that environmental award criteria actually increased contract prices. 

Through surveys and several interviews with public buyers, NGOs, IGOs, and women owned businesses along with review of literature, I emphasise on five possible support strategies for women-owned businesses in public procurement. These are reserved contracts; inclusion of women owned businesses as sub-contractors and their capacity building; training of both public buyers and women-owned businesses; greater advertisement and awareness of opportunities; as well as monitoring, evaluation and improvisation of initiatives. 

Reserving contracts for small businesses is one of the most adopted measures in government procurement to support them. In my recent research, I analysed the legal framework of reserve contracts in US Federal procurement. While rules on reserved contracts and the numerical goals for Federal agencies ensure that a portion of government procurement is allocated to small businesses, their long-term benefits to these enterprises are not assured. This underscores the necessity for a more refined design of legal rules, incorporating elements such as graduation schemes and transition periods.

I analysed the EU regulatory landscape to contribute to determining the ways in which these EU  primary and secondary laws addressing climate change mitigation impact the EU Public Procurement Law.  

Construction is of paramount importance for sustainability. It is responsible for half of the world’s extracted materials and energy consumption. Also, it accounts for one third of water consumption and waste generation. One of my papers tackles a gap in this sector about nearly zero energy buildings between developers and procurers in Rumania through a survey.

In examining the Italian and French jurisdictions, I identified distinct regulatory approaches for the adoption of minimum sustainability standards for food procurement, showcasing different levels of enforceability, the existence of legal definitions not present at the EU level and a high reliance on certification schemes. Notably, there is a tendency to regulate public food procurement with special provisions, e.g. on the promotion of short supply chains. The special general interests involved in the sector call for a targeted consideration and balancing of the principle of non-discrimination.