The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 70 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sustainable procurement in the public sector: an international comparative study
Abstract
Purpose Public bodies are being encouraged to procure sustainably, to reduce their social and environmental footprint and in order to stimulate sustainability in the private sector. However, little is known about how public sector organisations internationally are responding to this encouragement or of the conditions that are most conducive to sustainable procurement (SP). The purpose of this paper is to address these gaps in our knowledge so as to inform policy development at the government and organisational levels. Design/methodology/approach The authors report the findings of a survey of SP practices within a sample of over 280 public procurement practitioners from 20 countries and with collective responsibility for expenditure totalling $45bn p.a. Findings The authors' analysis shows that some SP practices are evident in public sector procurement practice and that the extent and nature of SP practices varies significantly across regions. In addition, the authors highlight the main facilitators of, and barriers to, engagement with SP and investigate their importance for engagement with particular dimensions of SP. Research limitations/implications Survey respondents are volunteers and may to some degree be more interested in, or engaged with, SP than other public sector organisations. The analysis is cross‐sectional and therefore provides only a snapshot of SP practice in the public sector organisations studied. Practical implications The paper identifies how policy and p…
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In the citing paper
“In the academic literature, there is more research on indirect approaches than direct ones.”
From Green public procurement as an effective way for sustainable development: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Brammer & Walker, 2011
In the citing paper
“Individual commitment also plays a vital role in the discretionary aspects of GPPs, such as philanthropy and procurement from small and local businesses (Brammer & Walker, 2011), and generally for moral and ethical motivations.”
From Green public procurement as an effective way for sustainable development: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Brammer & Walker, 2011
In the citing paper
“Financial constraints also hinder the adoption of GPP practises (Brammer & Walker, 2011), especially when the economy is prioritised over non-economic dimensions (Treviño-Lozano, 2021) or when sustainability is not considered a priority in the early design of public procurement.”
From Green public procurement as an effective way for sustainable development: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Brammer & Walker, 2011
In the citing paper
“Financial constraints Brammer and Walker (2011); Treviño-Lozano (2021)”
From Green public procurement as an effective way for sustainable development: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Brammer and Walker (2011)
In the citing paper
“Individual commitment Brammer and Walker (2011)”
From Green public procurement as an effective way for sustainable development: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Brammer and Walker (2011)
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, top management needs to be committed to sustainability (Brammer and Walker, 2011;Vejaratnam et al., 2020), and bringing it into the procurement process redefines the options and adds a dimension other than price, quality and time (Meehan and Bryde, 2011).”
From Implementation and management of a circular public procurement contract for furniture (2023) · cites this paper as Brammer and Walker, 2011
In the citing paper
“Strong leadership and managerial commitment are therefore key determinants of CPP implementation (see, e.g., Brammer and Walker, 2011;Vejaratnam et al., 2020).”
From Implementation and management of a circular public procurement contract for furniture (2023) · cites this paper as Brammer and Walker, 2011
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Metadata
- Authors
- Brammer, S., & Walker, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Warwick (GB)
- Cardiff University (GB)
- Venue
- International Journal of Operations & Production Management
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2011-03-22
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 452-476
- ISSN
- 0144-3577 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2041478216
- Cited by
- 731
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 53 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 68 · 2021: 78 · 2020: 65 · 2019: 52 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 62.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Operations & Production Management (publishedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Public Procurement and Policy
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
- Keywords
- sustainable procurement, public procurement, barriers and facilitators, sustainability policy implementation, cross-national comparison, environmental footprint, social sustainability, procurement policy
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