Public procurement for circular ICT equipment

The Province of Antwerp and BBL publish standard contract documents and manual for the purchase of Fairtrade and circular ICT equipment

Flanders wants to have a circular economy by 2050, in which raw material loops are closed. But how do you achieve such a circular economy in practice? The role of government authorities in this is clear: their purchasing policy puts them in a position to boost circular products and services. ICT is an important product category, with a major impact on people and the environment, but it’s also highly complex and rapidly evolving. With the CircuIT project, the Province of Antwerp and BBL got to work together on drawing up standard contract documents for the public procurement of ICT equipment. 

On 31 August 2019, BBL and the Province of Antwerp published a brochure with clauses for standard contract documents, and an accompanying manual. It became a collection of feasible, high-impact clauses for drawing up contract documents for the circular procurement of ICT equipment. It suggests clauses for each part of a public contract (title, object, technical specifications, etc.). These can be taken over literally, or with some modification. In the section on award criteria, the clauses are classified according to the ambition chart. Each clause also provides guidance on how to verify the criterion. 

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