Cost and EU Public Procurement Law: Life-Cycle Costing for Sustainability

Public institutions, companies and governments in the EU and around the world are increasingly engaging in sustainable public procurement – a broad concept that must consider the three pillars of economic equality, social welfare and public health and environmental responsibility when designing public tenders and finalizing government contracts.

This book contributes to the development of life-cycle criteria tools and methodologies for public procurement in the EU. It collects both sector-crossing contributions analysing the most relevant theoretical and legal aspects, including both EU law and contract theory, and sector-specific contributions relating to some of the most important sustainable goods and services markets. The book starts with a chapter that discusses the different approaches to including sustainability considerations in buying decisions by both private and public purchasers, and then goes on to examine the EU law on LCC and how it is implemented in different Member States. These chapters address the challenges in balancing economic and sustainability objectives under EU internal market law. One chapter develops the analysis with specific reference to public-private partnership. Another chapter elaborates how multi-stakeholders’ cooperation is necessary to develop LCC, based on a case study of a lighting services procurement. Three sector-specific studies relating to social housing, textile and clothing and IT close the book.

With contributors from a range of backgrounds including law, business, management, engineering and policy development, this interdisciplinary book provides the first comprehensive study on LCC within the framework of EU public procurement law.