Ajuntament de Barcelona

In a privileged position on the north-eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and the shores of the Mediterranean, Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain in both size and population. It is also the capital of Catalonia, 1 of the 17 Autonomous Communities that make up Spain. There are two official languages spoken in Barcelona: Catalan, generally spoken in all of Catalonia, and Castillian Spanish. The city of Barcelona has a population of 1,700,000, but this number spirals to more than 4,000,000 if the outlying areas are also included.

The capital of Catalonia is unequivocally a Mediterranean city, not only because of its geographic location but also and above all because of its history, tradition and cultural influences.

 

Sustainable Procurement Activities

Over the last years, l’Ajuntament de Barcelona (Barcelona City Council) has continuously increased their sustainable procurement activities beyond the tendering process. In 2006 and as part of Barcelona’s Agenda 21, the +Sustainable City Council Plan was set up to foster environmental awareness of municipal services and to build environmental, social and ethical criteria into the decision making process when purchasing and contracting products and services. The action plan includes the following strategic objectives:

  • to reduce CO2 emissions, improve water use and progress in waste prevention and selective waste collection in every municipal department and service;
  • to include environmental criteria in public works, buildings and municipal projects;
  • to fulfil International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Fundamental Conventions in procurement and to promote a social and sustainable economy;
  • to develop a socially responsible and environmentally friendly organisational culture that conveys its aims to enterprises, bodies and its citizens.

In order to achieve those goals, several instruments and activities have been developed. Examples include internal regulations, inclusion of social and environmental criteria in tenders, training sessions for municipal workers, business meetings with suppliers and other collaborators, and a dedicated website.

Some specific actions are:

  • the introduction of basic criteria in the administrative tender template that all procurers have to use;
  • the approval of two formal acts for responsible procurement and urban development;
  • the purchase of work uniforms respecting the ILO conventions or the acquisition of certified sustainable wood;
  • the participation in the SMART-SPP project to foster innovation through procurement has materialised a tendering process and dialogue with the market for the installation of charging points for electric vehicles in the city.

At present, some 37% of all the technical and administrative tenders include at least one environmental or social criterion.

Finally, +Sustainable City Council Convention celebrated its launch a year ago in March 2010. It has been a one year participative process to not only evaluate past actions but also to define common future objectives and actions and how to achieve them.

 

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