This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. 2 Balancing competing policy demands: the case of sustainable public sector food procurement. Abstract A focus on market--based green growth strategies to pursue sustainability goals neglects the pursuit of understanding how human health is interwoven with the health of eco--systems to deliver sustainability goals. The article argues that clarifying the difference between green and sustainable public sector food procurement, with political continuity that supports and enables policymakers and practitioners to take an incremental approach to change, makes an important contribution to delivering more sustainable food systems and better public health nutrition. Five European case studies demonstrate the reality of devising and implementing innovative approaches to sustainable public sector food procurement and the effects of cultural and political framings. How legislation is enacted at the national level and interpreted at the local level is a key driver for sustainable procurement. Transition is dependent on political will and leadership and an infrastructure that can balance the economic, environmental and social drivers to effect change. The development of systems and indicators to measure change, reforms to EU directives on procurement, and the relationship between green growth strategies and sustainable diets are also discussed. The findings show the need to explore how consistent definitions for green public procurement and sustainable public procurement can be refined and standardized in order to support governments at all levels in reviewing and analysing their current food procurement strategies and practices to improve sustainability. Permanent repository linkKey words: Sustainable public procurement; green growth strategies; public health nutrition; sustainable diets; EU procurement regulation; urban and regional governments. IntroductionRecognising that food purchasing and catering services, including those in hospitals, care homes, schools, prisons and state companies etc., represent a significant part of public sector procurement budgets, the central premise of this article is that there is a need for clarity about what is meant by 'green' public sector food procurement and 'sustainable' public sector food procurement. The dominant economic paradigm has led to a growing focus on market--based green growth strategies to pursue sustainability goals and, it is argued, an ecological shift is required in order to further understanding of how human health is interwoven with the health of eco--systems, and to enable policymakers and practitioners to move towards creating more sustainable food systems and better public health nutrition.Public sector procurement, representing all of the goods and services purchased with public money, represents 13 to 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in OECD countries, including 17 percent of the EU's GDP (Evans et al, 2010), while in developing cou...

No abstract

No abstract

The early struggles of a multidisciplinary group in developing guidelines for a District Health Authority are described.

No abstract