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Greening the Street-Level Procurer: Challenges in the Strongly Decentralized Swedish System

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  • Patrik Hall

    (Malmö University)

  • Karl Löfgren

    (Victoria University of Wellington)

  • Gregory Peters

    (Chalmers School of Technology)

Abstract

This article investigates the every-day street-level practice of green public procurement (GPP) in Sweden, a country with one of the most decentralized systems of public administration within the European Union (EU). The street-level procurement officers in Swedish local and regional government are in charge of purchases estimated to represent between 10% and 15% of Sweden’s GDP. This article examines the constraining and enabling factors behind the individual procurement officer’s choice of green procurement in textiles and clothing through a combination of qualitative interviews and a review of documentary sources. The analysis shows that while indirect support through European and national soft regulation and policy advice is imperative for “greening” procurement, the direct factors which influence the local outcome of GPP comprises factors on the local level: political commitment and environmental knowledge, the organizational structure of local government and the local interpretation of the regulatory framework. This study shows that a decentralized structure has possibilities of furthering ambitions of buying green if there are committed politicians and public officials, an optimal level of internal centralisation and an external support structure of knowledge and enabling rules.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrik Hall & Karl Löfgren & Gregory Peters, 2016. "Greening the Street-Level Procurer: Challenges in the Strongly Decentralized Swedish System," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 467-483, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jcopol:v:39:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10603-015-9282-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10603-015-9282-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nissinen, A. & Parikka-Alhola, K. & Rita, H., 2009. "Environmental criteria in the public purchases above the EU threshold values by three Nordic countries: 2003 and 2005," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1838-1849, April.
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    6. Magnus Boström & Natasja Börjeson & Michael Gilek & Anna Maria Jönsson & Mikael Karlsson, 2012. "Responsible procurement and complex product chains: the case of chemical risks in textiles," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(1), pages 95-111, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dries Couckuyt & Toshi H. Arimura & Takuro Miyamoto & Naonari Yajima, 2023. "Green Policymaking in Japanese Municipalities: An Empirical Study on External and Internal Contextual Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Ionela Corina Chersan & Valentin Florentin Dumitru & Cãtãlina Gorgan & Vasile Gorgan, 2020. "Green Public Procurement in the Academic Literature," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(53), pages 1-82, February.
    3. Krieger, Bastian & Zipperer, Vera, 2022. "Does green public procurement trigger environmental innovations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    4. Bryngemark, Elina & Söderholm, Patrik & Thörn, Martina, 2023. "The adoption of green public procurement practices: Analytical challenges and empirical illustration on Swedish municipalities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    5. Plaček, Michal & Valentinov, Vladislav & del Campo, Cristina & Vaceková, Gabriela & Ochrana, František & Šumpíková, Markéta, 2021. "Stewardship and administrative capacity in green public procurement in the Czech Republic: Evidence from a large-N survey," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 33.

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