The EU criteria set for Green Public Procurement (GPP) - Public Consultation in Denmark (2010) (MST )

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1 The EU criteria set for Green Public Procurement (GPP) - Public Consultation in Denmark (2010) (MST ) 1

2 List of contents Background 3 General comments 4 Summary of the product specific comments 6 Cleaning Products and Services 6 Textiles 7 Catering and food 7 Electricity 8 Furniture 9 Transport 10 Construction 10 Office IT equipment 11 Paper 11 Gardening 12 Appendix: Full version of hearing statements 13 Danish Energy Association (Dansk Energi) 14 Centre for Green Transport (Danish Transport Authority) 15 SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) 17 Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) 19 The Danish Ministry of Taxation (Skatteministeriet) 20 The Ecological Council (Det Økologiske Råd) 21 Ecolabelling Denmark (Miljømærkning Danmark) 26 Danish Forest Association (Dansk Skovforening) 29 Danish Energy Agency (Energistyrelsen) 30 Danish Centre for Energy Savings (formerly Danish Electricity Saving Trust) Center for Energibesparelser 31 The Association of Danish Cosmetics, Toiletries, Soap and Detergent Industries in Denmark (Brancheforeningen SPT) 32 The Danish Food and Drink Association (DI Fødevarer) 33 Organic Denmark (Økologisk Landsforening) 34 Danmarks Farve og Lakindustri 39 Danish Plastics Federation (Plastindustrien) 40 Copenhagen Energy (Københavns Energy) 42 Danish Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet) 43 Danish Competition Authority (Konkurrencestyrelsen) 44 Danish District Heating Association (Dansk Fjernvarme) 45 Defence Command Denmark (Forsvarskommandoen) 46 2

3 Background EU s 10 criteria set for Green Public Procurement (GPP) have been in public consultation in Denmark from 23 February to 24 March The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received hearing statements from 28 organisations and stakeholders. In this paper, a summary of the hearing statements are presented. The summary is divided into two parts: firstly general comments and secondly specific comments related to the different criteria set. In the appendix, the complete versions of the hearing statements are enclosed. The Danish consultation serves as input to the future revision of the existing criteria (mainly the specific comments) as well as development of new criteria set (mainly the general comments). The hearing statements have been sent to the EU commission, DG Environment, who is responsible for the GPP criteria set. The hearing statements will also be shared with the Green Seven group a group of GPP front runner countries in the EU. Moreover, it will be used as valuable input to a Danish standpoint in the GPP informal advisory group, which recently has been established (July 2010). Finally, it gives an indication of the usefulness of the criteria in a Danish context. This will be used by the Danish EPA in the further work with GPP as a policy area in Denmark Following organisations have commented the criteria set: Danish District Heating Association, Danish Competition Authority, Danish Working Environment Authority, Københavns Energi (Copenhagen Energy), The Danish Plastics Federation, Danmarks Farve- og Lak Industri, Danish Vet and Food Administration, Danish Chamber of Commerce, Organic Denmark, The Danish Food and Drink Federation, The Association of Danish Cosmetics, Toiletries, Soap and Detergent Industries in Denmark (SPT), Danish Centre for Energy Savings, Danish Energy Agency, Danish Forest Association, Ecolabelling Denmark, The Ecological Council, The Danish Ministry of Taxation, National Procurement Ltd Denmark (SKI), Danish Transport Authority (Centre for Green Transport), Defence Command Denmark and Danish Energy Association. Following organisations have replied to the consultation, but have had no comments to the criteria set: The Confederation of Danish Employers, Danish Consumer Agency, The Danish Bankers Association, The Danish Accreditation and Metrology Fund (DANAK), Danish Maritime Authority, The Danish Bar and Law Society, and The Ministry of the Interior and Health. 3

4 General comments The Danish Competition Authority and Københavns Energi (Copenhagen Energy) notes that the EU criteria for GPP are well-prepared. The practical use of the criteria is believed to be large. However, the Danish Competition Authority sees a need for more guidance on the use of the criteria, e.g. it seems unclear whether the criteria set are inspirational material or text that can be inserted directly in tender documents. Generally, the Danish Competition Authority notes that the criteria should be written directly in the tender documents, and a reference to the criteria is not sufficient. Copenhagen Energy emphasises that a reasonable balancing between environmental and economic considerations is needed. The Danish Plastics Federation generally welcomes the development of GPP product sheets taking the life cycle of the products into account, and considering criteria as functionality, life time and maintenance of the products. Danish Working Environment Authority has not found any statements in the criteria set, which is against the law of Danish Working Environment. Moreover, they assume that environmentally friendly products are applied in a way that secures a safe and healthy working environment. Danish District Heating Association suggests a separate and new criteria set on heat addressing the question of energy for heating of buildings and production of hot tab water. This is needed to put more emphasis on the use of heat from cogeneration in existing buildings as well. The Danish District Heating Association mentions a study 1 concluding that the energy lost in the energy transformation sector in Europe (electricity production, refining etc.) is equal to the final net demand for heat. Therefore, more emphasis should be put into district heating instead of using electricity or primary fuels like natural gas or oil for heating purposes. SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) supports the idea of common EU targets on GPP instead of a variety of different national standards. On the general level, SKI has two main comments: 1) a clear linkage between the Communication on procurement for a better environment and the criteria is needed and 2) the criteria need to be more visible on the EU GPP website, and it should not be presented only as at training toolkit. Finally, SKI recommends that it should not be mandatory to ask for the vendor s verification for compliance to the core criteria during the tendering process. The Danish Chamber of Commerce also supports GPP standards on a EU level but finds the target of 50% GPP in 2010 unrealistic in relation to the current market for green products. It is important not to create barriers for SMEs and exclude a large proportion of the market, especially because many SMEs are capable of offering environmental friendly products/services, but the products/services are typically not eco-labelled due to low market demands or economic reasons. On the other hand, it should be mandatory for public procurers to use the common EU criteria in order to reduce business costs related to GPP. Moreover, The Danish Chamber of Commerce emphasises the advantages and disadvantages of the use of eco-labelling in the GPP criteria. The GPP criteria have to use other mechanisms, i.e. international accepted standards such as ISO 14001/EMAS and third part certified systems offered by trade organisations. Finally, the Danish Chamber of Commerce points out that the criteria need continuous updating when using dynamic standards, such as the ecolabels and the energy star with revision cycles between 3-5 years. 1 Ecoheatcool, Euroheat & Power , supported by Intelligent Energy for Europe 4

5 The Association of Danish Cosmetics, Toiletries, Soap and Detergent Industries (SPT) welcomes the initiative of increasing the amount of green public procurement to 50 % by the end of Furthermore, SPT supports the increased focus on sustainable production and consumption embedded in the action plan. 5

6 Summary of the product specific comments Below, the Danish EPA has summarised the comments from different stakeholders. A complete version of the response from the hearing is presented in appendix. Cleaning Products and Services The Association of Danish Cosmetics, Toiletries, Soap and Detergent Industries (SPT) emphasizes that the environmental impact of a cleaning product is closely linked to the use of the product and that the cleaning operative is a key element in reducing the use of resources. Therefore, SPT suggests that the core criteria should relate to the product, e.g. an eco-label criteria or similar, and that the comprehensive criteria should relate to the use of the product. SPT looks positively at the total lifecycle cost and assessment approach, and it is also in accordance with the principals in the REACH regulation, e.g. focusing on communication in the supply chain. For the same reason, SPT believes that the criteria used in the GPP regime should be developed upon the principals in the REACH regulation, as it will make the criteria development more transparent and neutral. A good communication between bidder and operator is essential in achieving a sustainable procurement. It is therefore vital to incorporate such mechanisms in the product sheet and its criteria. This will secure that the operator is updated on the latest technology and that the bidder knows under what conditions the products are used. Ecolabelling Denmark points out that as GPP applies mainly to products for professional use/products manufactured for application in the institutional and industrial sector; it is problematic that the GPP criteria are based solely on ecolabel criteria for household products. New EU ecolabel criteria are under development for laundry & dish wash detergents for professional use. Thus, it is important to keep in mind that as soon as ecolabel criteria for products for professional use are available, these should form the basis for the GPP criteria. Furthermore, Ecolabelling Denmark notices that the core criteria are based on existing (old) criteria documents, and have not taken into account that new draft criteria have been prepared and are expected to be adopted by the Commission during Therefore, the current GPP criteria are assessed as being outdated. The core criteria include legal requirements, which are implemented in the Regulation on Detergents (EC No. 648/2004), and which need not to be part of the requirements (e.g. requirement no. 4 on packaging). Additionally, no verification requirements are listed for the packaging requirements. Ecolabelling Denmark notes that the most relevant environmental requirements are not included (e.g. requirements addressing the Critical Dilution Volume, aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability). The current core criteria focus on a range of hazard classifications which might not be the most important discriminating parameter for products on the market. It is, however, acknowledged that some requirements may be too complicated to assess by the purchasing authorities and/or complicated to document by the manufacturers. Regarding cleaning services, Ecolabelling Denmark (ED) suggests to add (under chapter 4.2 comprehensive criteria) the possibility of an official recognized ISO type 1 Ecolabel at the same level as EMAS and ISO Moreover, following requirements should be added: - Max. limit on chemical use per square meter. ED suggests requiring calculations showing the cleaning company s total use of chemicals per square meter (calculations from last year s balance sheet). In the comprehensive criteria, a chemical use above 640 microlitre per m2 should not be accepted. - Transportation: Most cleaning service companies drive in cars between the areas to be cleaned. This is often in urban areas. ED suggests adding requirements on: 90 % of transportation should be done in Euronorm IV cars and there should be a max. fuel consumption 6

7 per cleaned square meter. Calculations showing the amount of fuel used per square meter cleaned (based on last years balance sheet) should be required. - Waste: max. amount of litter bags and waste bags (Waste bags and litter bags stands for up to 85 % (in weight) of the waste produced by a cleaning service). Danish Working Environment Authority is positive that there in the GPP criteria of cleaning products is mentioned education in safety and work with clear working-instructions concerning protection of the environment and standards for working environment. The Danish Working Environment Authority has spotted a mistake in the Danish translation of the English criteria set: Point 5: Dry-cleaning is translated to kemiske rensningsteknikker. The correct translation is tørrengøring. Textiles Ecolabelling Denmark wonders why the product sheet on textiles refers to the old criteria document from 2002 and not to the new version that was decided in Additionally, the core GPP criteria seem not to originate from the EU Flower criteria document but rather from a scheme like Öko-tex. Several of the core criteria have focus on the level of different chemical substances in the final product rather than setting criteria to the production (as in the Öko-tex). Further, Ecolabelling Denmark has some specific comments to criteria 4 and 6: Instead of excluding 3 flame retardants and 3 phthalate softeners they should be generally excluded. And in relation to criteria 7 formaldehyde: The GPP proposal suggests levels of 70 ppm for products with direct skin contact and 300 ppm for all other products. The EU Flower operates with levels of 20 ppm for products to babies, 30 ppm for product with skin contact and 75 ppm for other products. The Ecological Council has one specific comment to page 6 (3.1); that PVC should be included in the list in 3.1, because of the used softeners and the problems it causes in the waste management system. Defence Command Denmark is giving comments to the GPP criteria sheets on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. The Defence Command lacks detailed information on verification requirements as well as dialogue with suppliers. Moreover, a model for Life Cycle Costing is desirable. Catering and food The Ecological Council and Organic Denmark (Økologisk Landsforening) propose to include specific percentages for organic purchase throughout the criteria-document. Danish experience shows, that 60 % organic purchase is possible without raising the total costs (combined with changed practices and change to a healthier diet). Thus, Organic Denmark suggests to add 60 % (by weight) organic in relation to the core and comprehensive criteria (3.1, 3.2, 4.1 and 4.2) of meat and dairy products, fruit and vegetables, groceries, drink, and beverages and aquaculture must be organically produces according to Regulation No 834/2007. Moreover, Organic Denmark suggests the remaining 40% non-organic produce of meat and dairy products, fruit and vegetables, groceries, drink, and beverages and aquaculture must be produced in accordance with the criteria of Integrated Production or equivalent systems, e.g. MSC (marine), free range e.g. Lærkevang, Dansk Kalv, Skrabeæg, Fri Kalv. Organic Denmark mentions that Denmark has made national rules for marketing organic products in large-scale kitchens. See more at Both The Ecological Council and Organic Denmark emphasize that it is important that the MSClabel is mentioned in the text as an example of a sustainable label for marine products. 7

8 The Danish Plastics Federation comments the criteria about the minimization of packaging. According to the Federation, minimization of packaging is not always the best solution as packaging preserve the food and prolongs the life of the food product, thus reducing the food waste. The environmental impact of the plastic packaging will be smaller compared to the impact from food waste as a result of insufficient packaging. The GPP approach should reflect these considerations. The Federation asks to remove the requirement on 45 % recycled content in packaging material in the core and in the comprehensive criteria or to limit this to non-plastic materials. Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries suggests that organic aquaculture products (according the Council Regulation) should be mentioned as an example when the criteria refer to aquaculture products produced through sustainable practices. Moreover, a more specific reference (or relevant legislation) to the framework of type I ecolabel certificate for restaurants should be given. The Danish Food and Drink Federation suggests that the criteria should include that the businesses develop an environmental and climate strategy. In addition to this, following specific comments are given: The Federation wonders why there is a one-sided focus on organic products and how the demand about packaging can be documented. Furthermore, Integrated Production (IP) is mentioned as a minimum demand, but as IP is not very wide-spread in Denmark, it is difficult to comply with (page 5). According to aquaculture, the definition sustainable practices should be specified with specific standards (page 5). According to animal welfare, the referring to national guidelines should be specified (page 6). Concerning transport (page 9) it seems as a difficult demand to put forward to businesses. Finally, the Federation suggests finding inspiration in the Danish rules for organic products in large-scale kitchens, and in terms of catering; the Nordic Swan has criteria for hotels which also could be used as inspiration. SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) comments the lack of percentage target in the criteria set, and suggests 30 % based on The Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries definition of a significant selection of organic food in catering/canteens. Electricity Danish Energy Agency is critical towards the use of Guaranties of Origin, because there is a large risk of buying green electricity with guarantees of origin that does not make a difference in terms of CO2-emissions and the use of renewable energy. The Agency has participated in a Danish working group, which has developed a standard for green electricity. In this standard the Guaranties of Origin is only one of many possibilities, but it is the possibility with the least chance to have an impact on the production of renewable energy. The Danish working group found two other alternative models; it relates to electricity with CO2 reduction and contribution to implementing new renewable energy sites (see more at The Ecological Council is very critical towards the Commissions proposal for a definition of GPP for Green electricity as the proposal will lead to misinformation of consumers and procurement officers, because it is based on simple Guaranties of Origin. Green electricity can be produced in the form of renewable sources, but green electricity can not be bought. In order to become greener the procurement entity must generate a real impact either by GHG reductions or by more renewable production capacity. Guaranties of Origin only document that some electricity has been produced somewhere to the grid. At the customer s connection to the grid, it is not possible to differentiate between renewable electricity and average energy mix electricity. Electricity from large hydro and wind farms is produced anyway also if nobody bought the Guaranties of Origin. Wind and large hydro do have very low marginal production costs and will be traded in the market before coal fired electricity and even nuclear power. This means that the only effect one can buy is the bookkeeper s advantage of adding green at the bottom line of the 8

9 accounting, making all the other forms and consumers a little dirtier in theory because the Guaranty of Origin has been taken out of the accounting. According to the Council, the supply of green electricity produced in Denmark and Europe is far greater than the demand for Guaranties of Origin. This means that there is such a small market for Guaranties of Origin that the value is zero. Thus, any extra price given for Guaranties of Origin is a simple donation to the electricity supplier, which may subsequently be used for any activity that the supplier wants, e.g. coal plant development. Buying Guaranties of Origin therefore has no positive climate effect. In Denmark, a Voluntary declaration for Electricity with a climate choice has been developed as a co-operation in a stakeholder initiative. The declaration covers 3 categories of electricity products with various levels of climate effects; see the appendix for more details on this declaration. Danish Energy Association supports the implementation of recommendations on green public procurement of electricity. The Association believes that the suggested criteria will serve to stimulate the demand for RES-E, thereby encouraging additional investments in renewable energy sources. SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) finds that the criterion about purchase of 50 % electricity from renewable energy sources and/or high efficiency cogeneration (page 3) is not very ambitious in a Danish context. Today, about 20 % of the electricity generated comes from wind turbines. The rest is thermal and about 55 % of this production is from high efficient cogeneration. They suggest that in the Danish version of this guideline the subject matter will be defined as purchase of 50% electricity with the branch declaration of electricity products with climate choice and/or high efficiency cogeneration. Furniture The Danish Plastics Federation finds that the environmental benefits of plastics are not reflected in the criteria. According to the Federation, furniture of plastic has low weight, need little maintenance, and has a high durability. Thus, the Federation asks to remove the brackets mentioning wood, and giving wood an advantage. Finally, the Federation mentions that recycling is not necessarily the best environmental solution, and the requirements for recycling of materials should be assessed case by case. Ecolabelling Denmark refers to some of the previous Danish comments on the EU Flower for wooden furniture especially regarding the requirement for classification on substances in the surface coating as it seems very strict and as the criteria is unclear (see the appendix for further details). ED also comments that the Swan criteria have an exception regarding metal surface treatment with chromium (for exceptional cases, metal surfaces may be treated with chromium or nickel where this is necessary in case of heavy physical wear or parts that require particularly tight connections (i.e gaslifters, table- and chair legs). ED also lacks a requirement regarding a %-part of wood and wood fibres from sustainable managed forest certified by an independent third party scheme. Both the criteria for the Nordic Swan and the EU Flower require a certain amount of certified wood. The Danish Forest Association supports the step-wise approach where wood-based material in the core criteria is material from legal sources and sustainability is an award criterion. Also the verification methods are acceptable. The Association finds it important that the verification methods will be harmonised with the coming requirements in the due diligence system described in the proposed obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market 9

10 Transport The Ecological Council: The Council finds that the criterion for g CO2-emission/km (page 5) is set too high in relation to the average for new cars. The Ecological Council recommends that the fleet average for new cars should not exceed 110 g CO 2 /km and for new vans maximum 160 g CO 2 /km. Compared to the existing criteria for rolling resistance in the Nordic Swan and the German Blaue Engel, the proposed criteria for rolling resistance (page 8) seems weak. The coming energy labelling of tyres will recommend tyres in a suboptimal placing on the A-G scale. The Ecological Council recommends to set the rolling resistance to 1,0 0,9 and 0,8. SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) recommends that this set of criteria is updated to ensure accordance with the new Directive 2009/33/EC of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles. Centre for Green Transport (Danish Transport Authority) generally finds the GPP procurement criteria suitable as inspiration to public procurers. Centre for Green Transport has specific comments regarding the following topics; energy efficiency, noise from the cars, noise from the wheels and rolling resistance as well as air-condition. Regarding energy-efficiency: The criterion for passenger cars on maximum 130 g CO2/km is acceptable and in accordance with energy class A in the Danish energy label. The criterion on vans needs further specifications. The Centre recommends following specifications: - vans (maximum 2000 kg): max 130 g. CO2/km - vans ( kg): max 155 g. CO2/km - vans ( kg): max 205 g. CO2/km - vans ( kg): max 230 g. CO2/km - pick-up vans with four-wheel drive ( kg): max 230 g. CO2/km Moreover, particulate filter needs to be mentioned in core criteria as it is still possible to find euronorm 4 cars without the filter. Otherwise, euronorm 5 needs to be in the core criteria. Air-conditioning: Page 7.6 refers to the EU directive 2006/40/EU. The Centre recommends the GPP criteria to be in forefront of the regulation, e.g. 1 January 2011, new cars needs to comply with the demand of GWP < 150. This should be included in the GPP criteria now. Regarding GWP and bus procurement, the limit on less than 2500 seems unambitious and should be lower. Criteria on noise and rolling resistance (p. 7, 8 and regarding bus procurement, public transport service and waste collection service) should be related to the classification in the Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 on the labelling of tyres. Regarding public transport service, the specifications (p. 13) need to be up-dated continuously in accordance with the euronorms. The contract performance clauses on euronorm 6 regarding new cars seems too strict. Regarding waste collection service, the Centre finds it good and ambitious to include eco-driving. Construction Danish District Heating Association recommends to change RES generating capacity within the building site itself so it covers district-scale solutions. These solutions are probably cheaper and more energy efficient. The Ecological Council agrees with this standpoint. Danmarks Farve og Lakindustri recommends a reduction of the spreading rate on 15 m2 per litre (p. 13 and 15). According to criteria in the EU Flower on indoor painting (white and light colours) 10

11 the spreading rate is 8 m2 per litre. In addition, the criteria on VOC with a low boiling point could increase the use of VOC with a high boiling point and hereby be a risk for the indoor climate. The Ecological Council: Generally, the Council finds the GPP criteria on construction too complicated as well as outdated. The Ecological Council has 25 specific comments to the GPP criteria, please see the appendix. SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) finds the GPP target for this set of criteria too unclear. On page 9, the procurer needs to decide on a percentage level that the energy demand of a new building should be lower than the maximum defined in the relevant national legislation. A certain percentage could be defined in the criteria. The Danish Forest Association same comments as furniture Office IT equipment Danish Chamber of Commerce recommends adding a P in the PM-parameter, so it makes Pages Per Minute, as well as adding tested in the product print mode (p. 8, item 3). The motive to the suggested changes is that it will reduce uncertainty and reflect the requirement in the applicable ISO standards. Moreover, the Chamber suggests deleting the requirement on substances in plastic parts hazardous to health. The Chamber s explanation is that the exposure is negligible. Any decision/recommendation regarding the use of chemical substances should be done under the auspices of REACH. Danish Centre for Energy Savings (formerly Danish Electricity Saving Trust) comments on the use of terms. The Centre suggests using desktop computers and integrated computers instead of PCs contra notebooks, because PCs are both desktops and notebooks. Furthermore, they recommend using displays instead of monitors following the most recent Energy Star specification and for covering all types of displays in an office. Moreover, ENERGY STAR specifications should be used instead of ENERGY STAR standards. In addition, they recommend including a general recommendation on using notebooks instead of desktops. Alternatively, thin clients can be used if the server system supports it. For imaging equipment, the duplex function is required for Appliances [with a printing function] with a maximum operating speed of more than 45 sheets per minute... This seems to be an error and should be minimum instead of maximum. However, the Centre believes it is not needed to include, because the ENERGY STAR specification requires duplex for more than 45 sheets per minute for monochrome and more than 40 sheets for color appliances. Finally, the Centre sees a need for further consideration in regard to the verification process. The manufacturer is allowed to use the ENERGY STAR label without delivering any means of proof (only registering at US EPA or at the EC is needed). If the product has no label, a technical dossier or test report can be used as verification, but this is not further defined. The Danish Ministry of Taxation sees a need for standardization on effect and choice of physical plugs, meaning that an electrical supply would be universal and not supplier-specific. Moreover, the criteria should include maximum demands to power consumption in standby. Paper Ecolabelling Denmark notes that the GPP set of criteria is referring to the old EU ecolabel criteria for copying and graphic paper. The 3 rd draft criteria proposal was published November 2009 and is expected to be approved in They also state that the GPP criteria mainly focus on fibres. In paper production, an important environmental factor is the use of energy and emissions to water and air. Ecolabelling Denmark notes that in the comprehensive GPP criteria in terms of the 11

12 recycled option, following is specified: 100 % recovered paper fibres shall contain minimum 65 % of post-consumer recycled fibres. Neither the EU flower nor the Swan has similar requirements. Ecolabelling Denmark asks for clarification on how the 65 % is defined and on the verification of these requirements. In relation to sustainable and/or legal virgin fibre, the core and the comprehensive criteria have no specific requirements regarding a %-part of the virgin fibres originating from sustainable managed forests certified by independent third party schemes. The revised EU Flower criteria is proposing at least 30% (until 30 June 2011) and at least 50 % (from 1 July 2011) SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) finds that it is unclear when the GPP target on 50% is reached. Should the paper be 100% recovered paper, 75% recovered paper, should it comply with the criteria of the EU Flower or is a purchase in accordance with the EU target simply if the virgin fiber for pulp production comes from a legal source? Moreover, SKI questions that only recycled paper and not paper from virgin fibers comply with the EU Flower criteria. The Danish Forest Association same comments as furniture Gardening SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) would like to know if the set of criteria is a part of the EU Commission s target of 50% green procurement. Danish Working Environment Authority has spotted a mistake in the Danish translation of the English criteria set: Point 3: soundpower level is translated to støjniveau the correct translation is lydeffekt niveau. 12

13 Appendix: Full version of hearing statements In the appendix, only organisations with comments to the GPP criteria are included. Organisations having no comments are not included, but the organisations are listed in the Background, p

14 Danish Energy Association (Dansk Energi) Contact person: Michael Guldbaek Arentsen Criteria set: Electricity Comments: Danish Energy Association supports the implementation of recommendations on green public procurement of electricity. We believe that the suggested criteria will serve to stimulate the demand for RES-E, thereby encouraging additional investments in renewable energy sources. 14

15 Centre for Green Transport (Danish Transport Authority) Contact person: Kathrine Fjendbo Jørgensen Criteria set: Transport Comments: Generelt til opbygningen af produktbladet: Center for Grøn Transport finder generelt EU's indkøbsproduktblad på transport velegnet som inspiration til, hvilke miljøkrav man kan stille i indkøbsprocessen. Produktbladet giver gode muligheder for fleksibilitet i forhold til, hvor ambitiøse man ønsker at være på miljøområdet. I høringssvaret har Center for Grøn Transport forholdt sig til Transport produktbladet og følgende emner her i: energieffektivitet, støj fra bilerne, støj fra dæk og rullemodstand samt aircondition gasser. Passenger cars and light-duty vehicles Vedr. teksten side 5, Specifications: CO 2 kravet på 130 g. CO 2 /km finder vi er et udmærket niveau, som svarer til grænseniveauet for energiklasse A i det danske energimærke. Hvad angår kravet til varebiler bør dette differentieres mere, idet varebiler har ganske forskellige funktioner, opbygning og vægt. Vi vil derfor anbefale, at man inddeler varebilerne i henhold til en parameter for deres nytte fx deres vægt og ud fra dette stiller forskellige krav til CO 2 grænseværdier alt efter, hvad der er realistisk i forhold til udbud og teknologiudvikling. Følgende eksempel er grupperet efter den danske energimærkning og de anbefalinger Center for Grøn Transport har lavet til offentlige indkøb af energieffektive og miljøvenlige person og varebiler. Center for Grøn Transport vil i april og maj måned køre en kampagne i kommuner og regioner for at skabe opmærksomhed om og udbredelse af anbefalingerne. CO 2 -tallene er cirkaværdier, som følger de anbefalede energimærker. Varebiler på højst 2000 kg: max. 130 CO 2 /km Varebiler på højst kg: max. 155 g CO 2 /km Varebiler på højst kg: max. 205 g CO 2 /km Varebiler på højst kg: max 230 g CO 2 /km Pick-up-varebiler med firhjulstræk på kg: max. 230 g CO 2 /km Partikelfilter til dieselbiler er ikke nævnt. Det bør efter vores mening inddrages som en del af Core Criterias idet, der ikke er krav til euronorm 5 i den del. Der findes stadig biler i euronorm 4 uden partikelfilter. Teksten side 7 punkt 6 i dokumentet refererer udelukkende til reglerne i EU direktiv 2006/40/EU, altså forhold der under alle omstændigheder skal være opfyldt. Der fremgår i direktivet nogle datoer for udfasning af airconditiongasser med GWP >150 (i praksis HFC-134a). Det kan overvejes at bringe Datoerne i dokumentet. Det er ikke et særlig ambitiøst kriterium, der præsenteres i toolkit et, idet der blot kræves at køretøjet opfylder almindelig lovgivning. Nye biler skal opfylde kravet om GWP <150 fra 1. januar 2011, så det anbefales i stedet at efterspørger biler, der allerede opfylder kravet. Krav mht. udsivning af gasser med GWP >150 (beskrevet på side 7) er allerede trådt i kraft, men fra 1. januar 2011 bliver disse gasser helt forbudt i nye køretøjer. Vedr. støj og rullemodstand fra dæk s. 7 punkt 8 og side 8 punkt 10: Man kunne overveje, at relatere anbefalinger til den inddeling man anvender i Europaparlamentets og Rådets forordning 1222/2009 om mærkning af dæk. 15

16 Bus procurement Som det gælder for de andre køretøjskategorier, kunne man overveje også her er stille krav til dækkenes rullemodstand med henvisning til den inddeling man anvender i Europaparlamentets og Rådets forordning 1222/2009. Vedr. teksten side 11 punkt 5: GWP er ikke direktiv reguleret, men anført GWP potentiale på <2500 er uambitiøst i og med at den meget anvendte gas HFC-134a har et potentiale på 1300 GWP. Reglerne for GWP <150 for de små køretøjer (M1 og N1) træder i kraft 1. januar Kommissionen bør undersøge, om der findes busfabrikater, der har til hensigt at følge GWP reglerne for de små køretøjer. Er dette tilfældet kan man anbefale at købe disse køretøjer så får man et konkurrenceelement ind som får de andre fabrikanter med. Bemærk, at der allerede er trådt regler i kraft mht. udsivningen af gasser >150 GWP fra airconditionanlæg for de små køretøjer (udsivningen er beskrevet på side 7). Man kan næppe forlange, at busser skal kunne leve op til disse udsivningsregler fordi deres airconditionanlæg er betydeligt større end små bilers. Public Transport services Vedr. tekst side 13, Specifications: Kravet bør skærpes med tiden efterhånden som Euronormerne bliver bedre. Vedr. tekst side 13, Contract performance clauses. 1. new vehicles: det bør overvejes om det er for stramt at bede om euro 6 ved nyindkøb. Vedr. tekst side 15 punkt 5 om støj og rullemodstand fra dæk: Man kunne overveje, at relatere anbefalinger til den inddeling man anvender i Europaparlamentets og Rådets forordning 1222/2009 om mærkning af dæk. Waste collection service Driving style: fint og ambitiøst at man har eco-driving med. Vedr. tekst side 24 punkt 5 om støj og rullemodstand fra dæk: Man kunne overveje, at relatere anbefalinger til den inddeling man anvender i Europaparlamentets og Rådets forordning 1222/2009 om mærkning af dæk. 16

17 SKI (National Procurement Ltd. Denmark) Contact person: Environment Consultant, Rikke Dreyer Criteria set: Several see below Comments: General comments to the EU criteria for green public purchasing First of all we would like to stress that SKI finds it very positive that the Commission has set common EU targets for green procurement and that we very much support the development of a common set of criteria that can be used by all public purchasers in EU. We often hear from our suppliers that they meet all kind of different criteria in public tender material and therefore do not know in what direction to go when developing new green products. Hopefully, the EU GPP criteria can change this situation. Today the EU criteria are somewhat difficult to find on the EU Commissions homepage for green procurement and one really has to know where to look to find the criteria. Also the criteria are presented as part of the training tool kit and it seems to be voluntary for the purchasers whether they want to use them or not. We believe the criteria should be directly linked to the communication from the Commission on procurement for a better environment (Communication 2008 (400)). We also believe that it should be clearly stated in the guidelines that the core GPP criteria should be integrated as minimum requirements in the tender material in order to comply with the EU target on green public procurement. Below you find our comments to the different set of criteria. Please notice that our comments are primary focusing on the whether the set of criteria are easy to understand and implement in an EU call for tender. Criteria set- Copying and graphic paper We do not find that it is clear from the product sheet on copying & graphic paper when the GPP target on 50% is reached when purchasing paper. Should the paper be 100% recovered paper, 75% recovered paper, should it comply with the criteria of the EU Flower or is a purchase in accordance with the EU target simply if the virgin fiber for pulp production comes from legal source? And why should only recycled paper and not paper from virgin fibers comply with the EU Flower criteria? Criteria set- Catering & Food What is the target for GPP in this criteria set? How many percent of the purchase of food should come from organic sources? E.g. would it be in accordance with the EU targets on green procurement to specify at page 5 that 0% of a defined food product must be organically produced? The Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries has defined a significant selection of organic food in catering/canteens as 30% of the food being from organic sources: Maybe this definition could be used to set the EU target for GPP of food. Criteria set- Textiles We have no comments for this set of criteria. Criteria set- Construction What is the target for GPP in this criteria set? E.g. would it be in accordance with the EU targets on green procurement to specify at page 9 in the criteria set that the energy demand of a new building should be 0% lower than the maximum defined in the relevant national legislation? Criteria set- Transport We suggest that this set of criteria is updated to ensure accordance with the new Directive 2009/33/EC of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles. 17

18 It is specified in the criteria set that the CO 2 emission should be below a certain level we believe it should be CO 2 emission. Criteria set- Furniture We have no comments to this set of criteria Criteria set- Office IT equipment We have no comments to this set of criteria Criteria set- Cleaning products & Services We have no comments to this set of criteria Criteria set- Electricity Page 3: The subject matter is defined as purchase of 50% electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E) and/or high efficiency cogeneration. We suggest that in the Danish version of this guideline the subject matter will be defined as purchase of 50% electricity with the branch declaration of electricity products with climate choice and/or high efficiency cogeneration. The branch declaration is as special Danish stakeholder initiative. Information on the declaration can be found here: In Denmark electricity generated by wind turbines now accounts for about 20% of the total electricity generation. The rest of the electricity production is thermal and about 55% of this production is high efficient cogeneration. In that light we do not find the core GPP criteria suggested for electricity very ambitious in a Danish context. Criteria set- Gardening products and services We have earlier been informed that this criteria set is not part of the EU Commissions target of 50% green procurement. We would like to know if that has changed and if this set of criteria is not part of the GPP targets. Finally, across all set of criteria we would like to know if it is mandatory to demand from the vendors verification for compliance with the core criteria. SKI strongly recommends that it should not be mandatory to ask for this verification during the tendering process. This recommendation is based upon our experiences with asking for documentation e.g. we have experienced receiving about 800 pages of documentation for complying with the Swan criteria during a call for tender on copiers. The documentation was all kinds of different declarations and test reports from all over the world. 18

19 Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) Contact person: Lisbeth Landstrøm, 6. kontor, tlf: Criteria set: Food & catering - GPP Product Sheet Comments: Under Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products is a regulation on organic aquaculture (cf. Commission Regulation (EC) No 710/2009 of 5 August 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, as regards laying down detailed rules on organic aquaculture animal and seaweed production) coming into force 1. July It is suggested that organic aquaculture products are mentioned as an example when the criteria refer to aquaculture products produced through sustainable practices. Under 4. Catering services GPP criteria there are several references to type I ecolabel certificate for restaurants. A more specific reference to the framework of this certificate (and if relevant legislation) should be given. 19

20 The Danish Ministry of Taxation (Skatteministeriet) Contact person: Lone Byg Criteria set: Office IT equipment strømforsyning Comments: Der ønskes en ensretning både hvad angår effekt og valg af fysisk stik, således at en strømforsyning fremover vil være universel og ikke leverandørspecifik. Desuden ønsker vi, at der stilles krav til effektforbrug i standby, dvs. hvor strømforsyningen er tilsluttet en slukket eller fuldt opladet laptop. 20

21 The Ecological Council (Det Økologiske Råd) Contact persons: see below Criteria set: Several see below Comments: 1. Criteria set Catering & Food Contact person Jeppe Juul The organic percentage We propose to include indications for percentages for organic purchase throughout the criteriadocument. Danish experience shows, that 60 % organic purchase is possible without raising the total costs (combined with changed practices and change to a healthier diet). Of course the percentage could initially be set to be lower than 60%, or be higher if target is a more specific defined product group, but we think that it is important that it's indicated explicit that 60% could be a realistic target. Aquaculture and marine products It is important that the MSC-label is mentioned in the text as an example of a sustainable label for marine products. Even though it could be improved, it s on the market and the best easy guideline in this field. We recommend That the percentage for buying organic food is either set to 60 % (total) throughout the paper, or that an E.g. 60% is added in the help-text to indicate a realistic but still ambitious target. That the MSC-label is explicit mentioned as an example (p.5 award criteria 3 and p.11 criteria 3) 2. Criteria set: Construction Contact person: Søren Dyck-Madsen First of all it is important that the Sheet is simple and relevant for use especially in those (many) member states that do not have a tradition for setting green criteria in Public Procurement. And at the same time the sheet should not be obstructive for the traditions of Green Public Procurement in other (few) member states. Seen on the large perspective this sheet seems a little bit too complicated for the above mentioned use. It tries to take everything in, which is a very good intention, but it also means that a lot of national and local preconditions cannot directly be seen in the document. It is an acceptable Sheet, but it is in many ways a little bit outdated compared to front running demands in Green Public Procurement in Denmark. Specific comments: Exclusion of certain building materials and demand for sustainable building materials is fair, but not good enough. It must include the possibility of demanding not to use hazardous chemicals placed on the EU candidate/svhc list according to the REACH or on national lists of unwanted chemicals. The use of the word Encourage should in many places be replaced by the word Demand. If the buildings energy system is flexible in the energy demand in order to use more energy, when a lot is available (e.g. wind) and to save energy, when there s a scarcity of energy (e.g. wind still) this should be awarded. Good overall insulation without heat bridges should be awarded. Buildings, where no temperatures on the inside of the building envelope goes below e.g. 15 degrees Celsius with an outdoor temperature of 0 degrees Celsius and an indoor temperature of 20 21

22 degrees Celsius, should be awarded, since this would very much improve indoor climate and greatly reduce the risk of fungus and mould. The word architect as the person/firm that carries through a building project is old-fashioned and misleading. It is the group of designers of the building that should be called on, since the planning and construction of very low energy building requires a much more integrated planning process than before. A demand for CV s for the staff that will carry out the planning process should be included, since the ability of firms/bidders to do so is very much dependant on the actual members of the staff that will be doing the actual job. Avoiding mechanical systems is mentioned under e.g. ventilation. This phrase must be taken out, since mechanical systems might be very much needed for obtaining the future near zero energy buildings mentioned in the recast of the EPBD. Mechanical systems are in a rapidly improvement phase, and can provide both excellent indoor climate and energy savings. In stead could be inserted some mentioning of the benefits of individual systems and demand driven ventilation which will improve the indoor living/working environment quality of the building together with reducing the overall energy demand. For the building process it is important to mention the need for demands for avoiding water getting into the building in construction and demands for efficient drying out of the building before closing the building. Unwanted water from the building process is the cause of many mould incidents in newly constructed buildings. The proposals for how to give points for specifications of the building cannot only be based on the minimum standards of the national building codes. Many public authorities will demand e.g. a final energy use in the building well below minimum standards These low energy demands should be fulfilled by all bidders and points should then only be given for doing even better. The definition of the low energy standard or Passive House standard must not only be defined as the need for heat. In some countries there are standards for the buildings total use of energy (except the private use of energy) including electricity for installations and lightning and cooling etc.) The definition should therefore cover the total energy use in the building and be comparable with the coming definition of Near zero energy that is mentioned in the recast of the EPBD. The demand for the use of local RES (l-vek) is not appropriate everywhere. In countries with efficient district heating systems the rationale of bringing more RES in the district heating could be more economy efficient than doing that on every single building. The mentioning of a typical percentage of RES (l-vek) of minimum 5 to 20 % is far too low since the use of a standard effective heat pump could easily bring this to around 60 %. Aiming at least 20 % under the existing national minimum regulation is also far too low for public buildings. But it fortunately do not exclude that some countries go much further than this. FSC (or PEFC) should be included for the use of tropical forests hard wood. The use of building materials could be based on renewable resources, which excludes the use of Copper and Zink and other scarce metals. We recommend an additional sentence for demand for materials with very low energy consumption in the excavation, refining and production of the building material. We do not see the need for the competition on the R-value. If a demand for U-values and indoor minimum temperatures are set, the use of insulation materials with lesser R-value will express it self in the architecture of the building. 22