Procurement Requirements from a Lifecycle Perspective
The Swedish national procurement strategy emphasizes the need to incorporate a lifecycle perspective. It notes that a lack of a holistic view in procurement can impact costs and values for both the organizations involved and the products affected by the procurement but not evaluated within it. This section explains the meaning of a lifecycle perspective and why it is crucial to consider this in public procurement.
The need to adopt a lifecycle perspective in all public procurement is highlighted in the National Procurement Strategy as follows:
A lack of a holistic perspective in procurement can result in costs and values for other activities affected by the procurement not being included in the calculations, as well as cost differences that arise during a product's lifecycle. This can lead to undesirable "burden-shifting effects" and sub-optimization of resources overall. Therefore, it is important to consider the lifecycle perspective in procurement activities.
This requirement to apply a lifecycle perspective clarifies that all phases in a product’s lifecycle should be included in the calculations - from raw material extraction to final waste management. This is essential for comparing the climate impact of different products submitted by bidders. A lifecycle perspective thus does not allow for selecting just one part of a product's lifecycle, such as emissions from manufacturing plants or during the product’s use.
Offering Procurement Criteria with a Lifecycle Perspective
The purpose of Criteria for circular procurement is to offer procurement criteria from a lifecycle perspective, resulting in measurable climate impact expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e). Being able to present the results from public procurement in terms of quantified climate impact is a prerequisite for demonstrating how public procurement can contribute to achieving our international climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The starting points for calculating a product’s climate impact are described in international standards. The two most important are the international standards for lifecycle assessments, LCA (ISO 14040/44), and environmental product declarations, EPD (ISO 14025). To compare the climate impact of different products, LCA calculations must be done in the same manner. This is ensured by referring to product-specific rules (PCR), which are further described on the EPD International website.
All procurement occurs within a product’s lifecycle between upstream and downstream processes. Upstream processes include raw material extraction, processing, and refining, as well as product manufacturing, while downstream processes consider product use, maintenance, recycling, and potential waste management.
Procurement documents specify requirements for the climate performance that offered products must meet, and it is the suppliers' responsibility to ensure that their offered products meet these requirements. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the procuring authorities to inform users about:
- How the products should be used
- Maintenance and necessary repairs
- Support for product reuse
- Facilitation of recycling by providing open collection systems and ensuring proper waste management