Prospects and Challenges of Sustainable Public Purchasing

Dear Colleagues,

The public sector represents the largest single buyer of goods and services worldwide (World Bank Group, 2016), accounting for more than 17 percent of global GDP. Even at the local level, public sector purchasing has enormous economic impact. For instance, in the U.S. alone, local governments purchase $1.72 trillion of goods annually (U.S. Census, 2016), which accounts for between 25 percent and 40 percent of all tax dollars collected (Coggburn, 2003). Collectively, these purchases generate environmental impacts that are nine times greater than the impacts associated with managing the public sector’s buildings and fleets (Tangherlini, 2014). However, only recently has the public sector begun to implement more broad-sweeping sustainable purchasing (or procurement) policies.

For this Special Issue, we welcome scholarly papers that advance our understanding of how governments and other public sector organizations (e.g., public schools, universities, the military) are advancing sustainable purchasing. We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics and questions:

Broader Concerns Related to Sustainable Public Purchasing

• What opportunities and challenges exist for the public sector organizations that implement sustainable purchasing? How do these opportunities differ from businesses that implement sustainable purchasing?
• To what extent is the public sector using sustainable procurement to advance their broader social objectives (e.g., minority-owned business preferences, fair trade, slavery-free labor, worker health and safety) and economic development (e.g., local vendor preferences)?
• How does sustainable public procurement fit within broader discussions about sustainable consumption and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals?

Sustainable Purchasing and Organization Mission, Culture, Leadership, and Structure

• In what ways do complementary policies and practices (e.g., recycling policies, energy conservation policies) facilitate sustainable public procurement?
• What types of organization cultures facilitate sustainable public purchasing?
• How does purchasing hierarchy (e.g., centralized, decentralized) affect the effectiveness of sustainable public purchasing and why?
• What kinds of resources and capabilities are needed to develop successful sustainable public purchasing programs? Are some more important than others, and, if so, why?

Motivation to Adopt Sustainable Public Purchasing

• What factors (e.g., stakeholders, institutional pressures, etc.) motivate the public sector to adopt sustainable public procurement policies?
• What is the role of e-procurement systems in motivating sustainable public procurement and how do these systems influence implementation? What system features are particularly effective?

Public Sector Collaborations Around Sustainable Purchasing

• In what ways are public sector organizations collaborating with vendors to advance sustainable procurement? Which types of vendor collaborations are more effective than others?
• What are the benefits and hazards associated with the public sector working collaboratively with vendors and other organizations around sustainable purchasing?
• Some public sector organizations are relying on regional purchasing models to facilitate sustainable purchasing. What do these coordinated models look like, what are their advantages and disadvantages, and which ones are more successful than others?

Information Access about Sustainable Purchases

• What are the most effective models for integrating sustainability information into the purchasing process? What types of information are public sector organizations using to determine which products are more sustainable than others?
• In what ways are public sector organizations monitoring vendors’ claims about their sustainable products and services? How is it managing misinformation?

Sustainable Public Purchasing Outcomes

• How is the public sector using sustainable purchasing to manage their Scope 3 emissions, embodied carbon, and other environmental impacts? To what extent are they successful?
• What types of activities (e.g., education, competitions, individual performance incentives) are more likely to lead to successful sustainable purchasing routines?
• Which types of sustainable public purchasing activities lead to greater environmental and social benefits?
• Where should organizations focus their attention when first implementing sustainable public purchasing?
• How are public sector organizations utilizing technical specifications to improve sustainable purchasing and which types of technical specifications are more effective than others?
• Can successful sustainable public purchasing models be replicated?
• How are businesses shifting their supply chains in response to public sector pressures for sustainable products and services?

Sustainability reaches a broader audience than many scholarly journals by publishing open-access articles and by informing both theory and practice. For author guidelines see: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/instructions.

Submission and Review Process: The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2020. All papers will be externally reviewed according to the policies of Sustainability.

Submission Deadline:

More Information:

For additional information, please contact the Special Issue editors:

Prof. Nicole Darnall
Prof. Justin M. Stritch
Prof. Stuart Bretschneider
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1700 CHF (Swiss Francs). The best ten Special Issue articles qualify for a 50 percent reduction in the Article Processing Charge (850 CHF). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainable public purchasing
• sustainable public procurement
• green purchasing
• green procurement
• government purchasing
• government procurement
• purchasing policy
• procurement policy
• purchasing guidelines
• procurement guidelines
• fair trade
• ecolabels
• minority purchasing
• veterans’ purchasing
• buy local
• local purchasing
• modern slavery