Promoting the many aspects of sustainability in public procurement 

Public procurement can be a booster of sustainability, but this requires a paradigm shift in the law that is not easy to implement. Every year, the public sector purchases goods and services worth more than 40 billion francs, equivalent to 8 per cent of GDP. This expense has traditionally been conducted according to cost-effectiveness criteria. The purpose is not only to spend little but also, from a liberal perspective, to foster competition among private companies. The new federal law on public procurement approved by the chambers in 2019 and the Intercantonal Concordat on Public Procurement, which the cantons will be asked to ratify in the coming years, provide for the possibility of allocating the market to the most advantageous offer not only from the perspective of price but also from the perspective of quality. This is a novelty that "allows sustainability to be taken into account from an environmental, social and economic point of view as well," explained Professor Federica De Rossa, director of the USI Law Institute.   Professor De Rossa addressed the topic of sustainability, specifically social sustainability, in public procurement together with PhD candidate Clarissa David. The issue was also the subject of a Swiss National Science Foundation research project carried out with Professor Peter Seele of USI Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society and Professor Matthias Stürmer of the University of Bern.   When people talk about sustainability, they immediately think of the environment. But the concept is broader than that.