Development of appropriate instruments for the environmentally sound procurement of passenger cars

Final report

Authors: Udo Lambrecht, Julia Pelzeter, Bernhard Bruch, Hinrich Helms

More than 20,000 vehicles are purchased by the public sector in Germany each year (not including public transport and municipal services such as waste disposal). This financial and demand volume justifies a special responsibility of the public sector for environmentally compatible procurement in this area. The aim of the project was to develop instruments that support users and procurement agencies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollutant loads from public vehicle stocks. The project was funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (German Federal Foundation for the Environment) together with the Berlin Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment and the Brandenburg Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection. In continuous exchange with the steering committee consisting of representatives from the states of Berlin, Brandenburg and Hesse, ifeu developed recommendations for action and tools for environmentally compatible procurement of passenger cars by public authorities with the aim of broad applicability. Important users from procurement practice were involved in interviews and a pilot test, and experts from the field of vehicles and the environment were involved in a workshop, so that the tools can be used in as many procurement agencies as possible. The following products were developed in the project and are made available online: - Online tool to raise awareness and provide information on alternatives to car purchase as well as on more environmentally friendly dimensioning and alternative drives for necessary car procurement. The starting point of the tool in the procurement process is the preparation of the award procedure. - Environmental minimum requirements for integration into the specifications and possible award criteria for integration into the quality criteria of the evaluation system in public tenders for passenger cars. - Life cycle cost calculator for use in the tender price evaluation of passenger cars. The life-cycle cost calculator makes it possible first of all to take into account operating costs in addition to pure acquisition costs. The calculator also offers the possibility of including external environmental costs in the evaluation. The products developed in the project were made known to a broad circle of users in an online final event. They are publicly available free of charge at www.nachhaltige-oeffentliche-pkw-beschaffung.de. Following the project, the tools developed for the procurement process are to be made as binding as possible in the participating federal states and beyond. This can be done via decrees such as the Berlin Administrative Regulation on Procurement and the Environment (VwVBU) or similar regulations and guidelines.