The Green Public Procurement in the midst of the economic crisis: is it a suitable policy tool?

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the response of managers, in the case where the government incorporates certain environmental criteria into public procurement. Some research hypotheses are statistically tested in order to identify the extent of managers' understanding regarding Green Public Procurement mainly under the severe financial conditions of the current economic crisis, during which time public expenditures should gradually be cut due to the flagship policy of the European Union for severe austerity measures. The data were taken from various pieces of research carried out in Greece and Cyprus, two countries which are suffering from an economic crisis and are operating under economic supervision with severe austerity measures. The study highlights that given the current economic climate, managers consider the Green Public Procurement a very weak tool to encourage the adoption of environmental management practices due to the austerity measures and budgetary cuts. They also claimed that the classical policy tools (e.g. environmental legislation and market-based instruments) might shape an unsustainable environment for their future operations and additional measures would force them out of market.