EU Proposes New Green Public Procurement Rules

On 9 September 2026, the European Commission adopted a proposal for new EU rules on public contracts and concessions. The proposal would consolidate the current public-procurement framework into one directly applicable Regulation, referred to as the Public Procurement Act.

The proposed Regulation would replace the current framework under the Concessions Directive, the Public Procurement Directive and the Utilities Directive. By using a Regulation rather than directives, the Commission aims to harmonise public-procurement rules across EU Member States.

Stronger role for sustainability

The proposal would strengthen the role of environmental and quality requirements in public-procurement procedures. It recognises factors such as circularity, recycled and refurbished content, waste recovery and energy efficiency.

Contracting authorities could establish selection and award criteria that support environmental protection, circularity and resource efficiency. These may include requirements related to durability, repairability, upgradeability, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, recycled content, secondary raw materials, waste prevention and preparation for reuse.

Public buyers could also consider the procurement of refurbished, remanufactured or previously used products where appropriate.

Quality criteria in tenders

Under the proposal, quality criteria should account for at least 30% of the assessment of a tender. Contracting authorities may depart from this approach if they explain how quality will otherwise be ensured, for example through minimum quality requirements.

This would reduce the emphasis on price alone and increase the importance of quality, environmental performance and sustainability considerations when public buyers evaluate tenders.

Potential mandatory requirements

The proposal would give the European Commission powers to introduce mandatory green public-procurement requirements for selected product categories.

These requirements could set environmental conditions that contracting authorities would need to include in relevant public-procurement procedures. The specific product categories and detailed requirements would be defined through later Commission measures.

Next steps

The proposal is not yet law. It will now be considered and negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The final text, product scope and implementation timetable may therefore change before adoption.

For suppliers to the public sector, the proposal is an early indication that evidence on product durability, repairability, recycled content, circularity and environmental performance may become increasingly important in public tenders.

Source: European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation on public contracts and concessions .