IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i24p13525-d696839.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Grounded Theory on Sustainable Circular Public Procurement in Germany: Specific Product Case and Strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Simone Wurster

    (Department of Innovation Economics, Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), 10587 Berlin, Germany)

  • Rita Schulze

    (DECHEMA e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

  • Ramona G. Simon

    (DECHEMA e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

  • Stefan Hoyer

    (Department of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09107 Chemnitz, Germany)

Abstract

By using its purchasing power to procure environmentally friendly goods and services, the public sector can significantly contribute to sustainability in production and consumption. The sector’s support is also needed for the development of a circular economy (CE), but the absence of a suitable procurement practice often constitutes a barrier. A pressing example for a global need to develop the CE further exists in the tyre context. By the end of 2030, the number of end-of-life tyres (ELT) is expected to rise significantly. This article analyses the role and situation of public procurement and the necessity of quality infrastructure elements to support a sustainable tyre CE in the European Union’s member state Germany. It relies on a multiple case case study-based Grounded Theory approach and 22 interviews with public procurement professionals. Five types of barriers for sustainable circular tyre procurement were identified, concerning regulatory, technical, social, market, and ecological aspects. Possible strategies to overcome them were developed, leading to 14 recommendations for German policymakers and public procurement organisations. In particular, the recommendations focus on the two quality infrastructure elements ‘standards’ and ‘labelling’, with four standardization aspects and eight labelling topics in total.

Suggested Citation

  • Simone Wurster & Rita Schulze & Ramona G. Simon & Stefan Hoyer, 2021. "A Grounded Theory on Sustainable Circular Public Procurement in Germany: Specific Product Case and Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-29, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13525-:d:696839
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13525/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13525/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Audinga Baltrunaite & Cristina Giorgiantonio & Sauro Mocetti & Tommaso Orlando, 2021. "Discretion and Supplier Selection in Public Procurement," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 37(1), pages 134-166.
    2. Marian Siminicã & Marioara Avram & Luminita Popescu & Roxana Loredana Avram, 2020. "The Adoption of National Green Procurement Plans from the Perspective of Circular Economy," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(53), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Lindström, Hanna & Lundberg, Sofia & Marklund, Per-Olov, 2020. "How Green Public Procurement can drive conversion of farmland: An empirical analysis of an organic food policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    4. Kirchherr, Julian & Piscicelli, Laura & Bour, Ruben & Kostense-Smit, Erica & Muller, Jennifer & Huibrechtse-Truijens, Anne & Hekkert, Marko, 2018. "Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 264-272.
    5. Edler, Jakob & Georghiou, Luke, 2007. "Public procurement and innovation--Resurrecting the demand side," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 949-963, September.
    6. George Lăzăroiu & Luminița Ionescu & Cristian Uță & Iulian Hurloiu & Mihai Andronie & Irina Dijmărescu, 2020. "Environmentally Responsible Behavior and Sustainability Policy Adoption in Green Public Procurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Teresa Soto & Teresa Escrig & Begoña Serrano-Lanzarote & Núria Matarredona Desantes, 2020. "An Approach to Environmental Criteria in Public Procurement for the Renovation of Buildings in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-41, September.
    8. Kirchherr, Julian & Reike, Denise & Hekkert, Marko, 2017. "Conceptualizing the circular economy: An analysis of 114 definitions," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 221-232.
    9. Alaassar, Ahmad & Mention, Anne-Laure & Aas, Tor Helge, 2020. "Exploring how social interactions influence regulators and innovators: The case of regulatory sandboxes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    10. Kieran Campbell-Johnston & Martin Calisto Friant & Kaustubh Thapa & Dirkjan Lakerveld & Walter J V Vermeulen, 2020. "How circular is your tyre: Experiences with extended producer responsibility from a circular economy perspective," Post-Print hal-02883432, HAL.
    11. Esther C. van der Waal & Alexandra M. Das & Tineke van der Schoor, 2020. "Participatory Experimentation with Energy Law: Digging in a ‘Regulatory Sandbox’ for Local Energy Initiatives in the Netherlands," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    12. Panagiotis Grammelis & Nikolaos Margaritis & Petros Dallas & Dimitrios Rakopoulos & Georgios Mavrias, 2021. "A Review on Management of End of Life Tires (ELTs) and Alternative Uses of Textile Fibers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-20, January.
    13. Natacha Klein & Tomás B. Ramos & Pauline Deutz, 2020. "Circular Economy Practices and Strategies in Public Sector Organizations: An Integrative Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-24, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simone Wurster & Cristina Fróes de Borja Reis, 2022. "Priority Products for Sustainability Information and Recommendation Software: Insights in the Context of the EU’s Action Plan Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-28, September.
    2. Simone Wurster & Luana Ladu, 2022. "Triple-C: A Tridimensional Sustainability-Oriented Indicator for Assessing Product Circularity in Public Procurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-23, October.
    3. Simone Wurster & Rita Schulze & Ramona G. Simon, 2021. "On the Road to Circular Public Procurement: Case, Variations, and Potential Actions in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joanicjusz Nazarko & Ewa Chodakowska & Łukasz Nazarko, 2022. "Evaluating the Transition of the European Union Member States towards a Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-24, May.
    2. Natacha Klein & Tomás B. Ramos & Pauline Deutz, 2022. "Factors and strategies for circularity implementation in the public sector: An organisational change management approach for sustainability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 509-523, May.
    3. Simone Wurster & Rita Schulze & Ramona G. Simon, 2021. "On the Road to Circular Public Procurement: Case, Variations, and Potential Actions in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    4. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    5. D. D’Amato, 2021. "Sustainability Narratives as Transformative Solution Pathways: Zooming in on the Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 231-242, June.
    6. Krieger, Bastian & Zipperer, Vera, 2022. "Does green public procurement trigger environmental innovations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    7. Vibeke Grupe Larsen & Valentina Antoniucci & Nicola Tollin & Peter Andreas Sattrup & Krister Jens & Morten Birkved & Tine Holmboe & Giuliano Marella, 2023. "A Methodological Framework to Foster Social Value Creation in Architectural Practice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-25, January.
    8. Germán López Pérez & Isabel María García Sánchez & José Luis Zafra Gómez, 2024. "A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of eco‐innovation on financial performance: Identifying barriers and drivers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 1321-1340, February.
    9. Graziela Darla Araujo Galvão & Steve Evans & Paulo Sergio Scoleze Ferrer & Marly Monteiro de Carvalho, 2022. "Circular business model: Breaking down barriers towards sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1504-1524, May.
    10. Magdalena Rusch & Josef‐Peter Schöggl & Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2023. "Application of digital technologies for sustainable product management in a circular economy: A review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 1159-1174, March.
    11. Leslier Valenzuela-Fernández & Manuel Escobar-Farfán, 2022. "Zero-Waste Management and Sustainable Consumption: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Mapping Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-24, December.
    12. Ángela Triguero & María C. Cuerva & Francisco J. Sáez‐Martínez, 2022. "Closing the loop through eco‐innovation by European firms: Circular economy for sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2337-2350, July.
    13. Concepción Garcés-Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera-Torres & Inés Suárez-Perales & Dante I. Leyva-de la Hiz, 2019. "Is It Possible to Change from a Linear to a Circular Economy? An Overview of Opportunities and Barriers for European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, March.
    14. Chembessi Chedrak & Gohoungodji Paulin & Juste Rajaonson, 2023. "“A fine wine, better with age”: Circular economy historical roots and influential publications: A bibliometric analysis using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS)," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(6), pages 1593-1612, December.
    15. Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar & Shauhrat S. Chopra, 2022. "Leveraging Blockchain and Smart Contract Technologies to Overcome Circular Economy Implementation Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, August.
    16. Gilbert Silvius & Aydan Ismayilova & Vicente Sales-Vivó & Micol Costi, 2021. "Exploring Barriers for Circularity in the EU Furniture Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-25, October.
    17. Gabi Försterling & Ronald Orth & Benjamin Gellert, 2023. "Transition to a Circular Economy in Europe through New Business Models: Barriers, Drivers, and Policy Making," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-40, May.
    18. Georgios Lanaras-Mamounis & Anastasios Kipritsis & Thomas A. Tsalis & Konstantinos Ι. Vatalis & Ioannis E. Nikolaou, 2022. "A Framework for Assessing the Contribution of Firms to Circular Economy: a Triple-Level Approach," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 883-902, September.
    19. Doussoulin, Jean Pierre & Bittencourt, Mariana, 2022. "How effective is the construction sector in promoting the circular economy in Brazil and France? : A waste input-output analysis," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 47-58.
    20. Răzvan-Andrei Corboș & Ovidiu-Iulian Bunea & Daniel-Constantin Jiroveanu, 2023. "The Effects of Strategic Procurement 4.0 Performance on Organizational Competitiveness in the Circular Economy," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13525-:d:696839. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.