Public procurement is not only about the lowest price. When cities purchase laptops, chargers or cloud services, they also shape environmental impact, innovation and fair competition. In Porto, procurement decisions are increasingly linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to a broader vision for the digital and green transition.
Public procurement as a tool for sustainability
Every public contract can support the SDGs, from SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production and SDG 9 on resilient and innovative infrastructure, to SDG 8 on decent work and SDG 13 on climate action.
Porto is working to make this link explicit by connecting procurement decisions to sustainability objectives and tracking progress through strategic policies and KPIs.
“Only by committing to sustainable public procurement and by establishing clear KPIs are public officials justified in running unconventional procurement processes,” explains Patrícia Mafalda Vieira, a legal procurement expert and member of the Community of Practice on sustainability in ICT, coordinated by the Big Buyers Working Together project.
Porto’s approach is reinforced by national frameworks such as ECO360, National Strategy for Green Public Procurement 2030, which commits Portuguese public entities to greener purchasing.
Porto Digital and the Digital Neighbourhood
Since 2004, Porto has invested in innovation and experimentation through Porto Digital, the city’s technological hub funded by the municipality, the University of Porto and Metro do Porto. Porto Digital supports experimentation across public services, treating sustainable development and digital transition as practical enablers.
One flagship initiative is the Digital Neighbourhood project, which aims to revitalise local economies by supporting small retail businesses in specific areas of the city, with a focus on digital transition, urbanism and innovation. In this project, procurement connected these three strands. Qualification criteria set a clear entry level for participating businesses, technical standards balanced ambition with what the market could deliver, and service design created space to engage suppliers on workable solutions.
Only by committing to sustainable public procurement and by establishing clear KPIs are public officials justified in running unconventional procurement processes
“One of the key successes was allowing flexibility while maintaining objectivity,” says Tiago Teles, project manager at Porto Digital. “To make a tender truly innovative, you need a scope that is clear enough for suppliers to understand what is required, but open enough to leave room for innovation.”
A ‘supplier open day’ before publishing the tenders helped present the project, clarify expectations and encourage a broader range of suppliers to participate.
Repair, reuse and the circular ICT economy
Porto’s approach to sustainable procurement also considers what happens after devices are purchased. According to the Global E-waste Monitor, more than 62 million tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment are produced each year, yet only around one fifth is properly collected and recycled.
To respond, the municipality and Porto Ambiente have partnered with circular economy initiatives to organise hands-on repair and restoration workshops. These activities help residents and city officials extend the life of small appliances and build awareness of what sits inside the devices the city buys.
Some local initiatives also support donation and recovery models. They accept computers in any condition, recover components where possible and direct part of the value to charities to incentivise donations. Several municipal departments have already taken part, donating hundreds of unused electrical items in recent years.
Making refurbished equipment a realistic option
Despite the growth of second-life initiatives across Europe, the market for refurbished ICT equipment remains challenging for many public buyers.
“Two main factors are still limiting the purchase of refurbished equipment in cities,” says João Botelho, CEO of Recycle Geeks, a circular economy initiative based in Porto. “The first is trust. End users and city officials often do not trust refurbished equipment and assume it cannot match the performance of new equipment. The second is that traditional public procurement is not suited to these purchases. Tenders need to be adapted, with criteria and requirements that recognise quality, warranties and service conditions, not only price.”
To make a tender truly innovative, you need a scope that is clear enough for suppliers to understand what is required, but open enough to leave room for innovation
Building trust requires clear quality standards and warranties, as well as procurement approaches that allow refurbished and repairable solutions to compete fairly.
Why circular technology needs cities
Cities can help scale circular and innovative solutions in the technology sector. As key actors in waste management and close partners of residents and local businesses, cities can stimulate circular models through procurement and local ecosystems, for example by strengthening take-back schemes, encouraging modular products and supporting a market for electronic spare parts.
This is why, in the recent public consultation on the Circular Economy Act (CEA), Eurocities called for measures to help municipalities expand circular models. These include making repair and secondary products more affordable (for example through VAT reductions), strengthening frameworks for collaboration between producers and municipalities so cities are not left carrying the costs of e-waste management, and preventing product designs that undermine reuse and local circular initiatives.
Lessons from Porto
Porto’s experience shows that when strategic frameworks, innovative tenders and circular partnerships come together, public procurement can become a practical driver of sustainability rather than just a procedure.
Across Europe, EU institutions and public buyers at national, regional and local levels increasingly recognise procurement’s role in advancing sustainability goals. Yet barriers still prevent procurement practices across the EU from fully reflecting this ambition. Through Big Buyers Working Together and its thematic groups, Eurocities is committed to supporting cities and public authorities to embed sustainability in how they buy goods and services.
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Find out more about Big Buyers Working Together here.
Download Eurocities’ response to the Circular Economy Act consultation here.
