Public Procurement Factsheet

Background

What is public procurement?

Public procurement is the purchasing of goods and services from an external source, usually private, for a local government or agency. Public procurement by public administrations typically involves an assessment, usually under the form of a bidding process. Public procurement agreements are always contractual, meaning that the vendors who win the bidding process are related to the public administration by way of a contract.

In most jurisdictions, all levels of governments follow public procurement rules, from local (municipalities, regions, states), to national and federal level. In addition to rules, administrations usually have to follow public procurement guidelines.

To what extent are public procurement guidelines relevant to animal protection and/or food sustainability?

Public procurement guidelines, which set requirements that vendors must comply with if they want to be considered in the bidding process, are relevant to animal protection and food sustainability goals to the extent that large purchasing institutions can back the entire food system. Institutions such as hospitals, prisons, and schools represent a significant share of the demand. Flipping the demand towards more sustainable and more humane food could thus determine food production standards and volumes. In other words, influencing public procurement to improve food sustainability follows a supply and demand logic, whereby animal advocates pursue two main goals: (1) make certain food affordable for the general public and (2) stimulate supply for more sustainable and humane food products. A third goal might be to have government encourage more humane food habits. The end result is to end the reliance on animal source products.

How common are sustainable and humane standards in public procurement guidelines?

Sustainable and humane standards in public procurement policies are not that common around the world. A few public procurement policies include health and environmental standards, but they do not typically consider the health benefits of plant-based foods compared to animal-based food products. An additional issue is that these policies are drafted in a vague, broad way. At best, the standards are enacted under the form of a voluntary good practices list, and so are not mandatory.

Procurement policies that focus on sourcing goods (including foods) locally are also common. For instance, at least 45 states in the US, plus the District of Columbia, have procurement policies designed to give a preference to businesses that meet certain characteristics, such as those that are owned by veterans, pay certain wages, use environmentally sustainable practices, or manufacture within the state.

Key Considerations

When evaluating, drafting or comparing public procurement related to purchase of food products, local context, political feasibility and the regulatory environment all influence what one considers “Better Practice.” With that caveat in mind, the following considerations indicate better and worse practices for public procurement policies.

1. Humane and Sustainable Standards in Public Procurement Policies

Public procurement rules should include standards related to sustainability and animal welfare. Public health standards are also of relevance to the extent that whole plant-based food diets are healthier compared to diets rich in animal-source products. A good public procurement policy would also include a minimum portion of plant-based food and specific language that points to a decrease in animal-based food products.

The State of Connecticut (USA), the City of Washington DC, and the City of Berkeley (California) also provide encouraging language in their public food procurement focusing on limiting greenhouse gas emissions from the agri-food sector – although the Connecticut Climate Friendly Food purchasing Bill has not passed yet. However, from an animal protection perspective, such environmental standards risk shifting from beef consumption to pork, poultry, or fish production, as opposed to switching to more plant-based diets.

2. Specific and Binding Standards

Standards in the public procurement policies must be specific enough to produce tangible effects on the vendors’ offers, and ultimately on the type of food that will be offered to public service users. A positive public procurement policy would provide animal welfare standards that animal-source producers should comply with, and/or specific targets in the portion of plant-based food. To do so, public administrations can rely on already-existing labels, such as the organic label, which provides minimum animal welfare standards.

Additionally, these standards should also be binding, and so should be enacted by way of a legal act or administrative act (such as an executive order) before changing the policy, as opposed to resolutions, which are not binding.

A good example of specific and binding standards in public procurement rules can be found in French Law n° 2018-938 (also known as “Loi EGalim”), which provides that food public procurement must contain at least 50% of food products labeled as quality products. Quality products include products that are labeled EU organic and Label Rouge, which both provide higher animal welfare standards compared to minimum legal standards.

Portugal also enacted a law (Law 11/2017) requiring all public cafeterias to offer at least one vegan option every day.

An example of a strong binding language can also be found in the City of San Francisco food policy (San Francisco Admin Code CH 101), which prohibits the purchase and sale of sweet and sugary beverages. Another relevant initiative is New York City’s “Greener by Default” pilot program for hospitals, which would provide plant-based food by default to patients, while not formalized into a policy, demonstrates a proactive approach toward providing plant-based food to patients.

3. Specific Assessment Methodologies and Reporting Requirements

Administrations adopting public procurement policies should furthermore assess such policies and report on their implementation to ensure that the policies produce the intended effects.

For instance, the city of Washington DC is currently developing a methodology to assess the environmental impact of food as part of the cities’ Sustainable Purchasing Policies.

4. Collaboration with Vendors

A challenge for advocates trying to influence public procurement rules is the fact that no vendor might be applying to bids because the new standards make it not profitable enough for them. In general, governments have a hard time getting bidders partially due to slow and low pay so including additional requirements to contracts may prove too burdensome. It is therefore crucial that advocates collaborate with vendors to help them develop their professional network and practices to provide more humane and plant-based food.

References

Jessica Crane, Senior Policy Advisor, The Humane League

EPHA, How Can the EU Farm to Fork Strategy Contribute? Public Procurement for Sustainable Food Environments (2019), available online

EU Food Policy Coalition, Sustainable Public Procurement of Food: A Goal Within Reach (2021), available online

European Vegetarian Association, Plant-Based Sustainable Public Procurement Best Practices (2023), available online