Governance is central for sustainability transitions in maritime transport. Norwegian authorities can directly influence developments in maritime transport through green public procurement, and low- or zero-emission technologies have been or are being considered for more than 250 operational ferry and high-speed vessel connections. This study explores practices of green public procurement and investigates procuring authorities and operators’ perspectives on the efficiency of green public procurement in accelerating sustainability transitions. Through review of calls for tender and interviews with procuring authorities and operators, the study identifies critical issues for green public procurement to accelerate maritime passenger transport toward sustainability. The critical issues are related to either procedural or service delivery issues. Procedural issues refer to timelines with multiple calls on the same time and different views of procurers and operators on the ideal duration of contracts. The most demanding service delivery issues are infrastructure for charging and energy capacity in remote areas where operators have to pre-book energy needs based on rough estimations which in turn increase the tender price.

Requests for emission reduction in the freight transport sector will be more intense in the coming years. One possible strategy to reduce emissions from freight transport is through utilising zero emission vehicles, which requires substantial investments both by transporters and by authorities. This paper examines how green public procurement (GPP) can be used to push the market in an environmentally sustainable direction. For this purpose, interviews with both public authorities and freight service providers are conducted. The results show that GPP is considered a useful tool for public authorities to both boost the uptake of zero emission vehicles and to share the investment costs with freight service providers. However, our study shows that there are differences between small and large municipalities. Moreover, to succeed with GPP, public authorities must prioritise such tasks in their daily routines through political decisions and strategies. Additionally, barriers related to financial possibilities are crucial to handle, as public support schemes are important to reduce costs for all involved stakeholders. Altogether, our paper shows that with the right tools and willingness among both public and private stakeholders, GPP can contribute to the use of more environmentally friendly solutions in the freight transport sector.