Sustainable public procurement in Portugal: The case of two public school canteens

Abstract

In recent years, numerous opportunities have been created to encourage new integrated approaches to sustainable food programs in many sectors, namely education. The critical role played by the State and public policies in the transition toward a more sustainable food system is at stake in the case of public procurement. Having this in mind, this paper explores the emergence of innovative procedures of public procurement in the canteens of Portuguese public schools. After consideration of the evolution of European and Portuguese normative framework regarding this subject, this paper presents a synthesis of the Government database on the public procurement of school food, and two case studies corresponding to two distinct territories where local public administration innovated in terms of public procurement in food preparation. This paper presents the main challenges, barriers and opportunities involved in the inclusion of qualitative criteria in public contracts of acquisition of goods and services, considering social, environmental, and ethical dimensions. Our findings suggest that, in the Portuguese case, and despite the many efforts to actively encourage the use of green and sustainable procedures in the canteens of public schools, the effective realization on the ground is uneven.

Engagement with the Community and Partnerships for Sustainable Food Production and Consumption in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions

“…In 2016, these players guaranteed 100% of the vegetables and fruit products consumed in school canteens [19]. Similar examples can be found in public school's canteens in Portugal [20].…”

Investigating Ethics in Government Procurement: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…An analysis of figure n.04 reveals that the European Commission stands out as the main source of funding, supporting four studies focused on ethics and public procurement as preventive measures against corruption in government authorities. These studies were carried out in Portugal (Bizarro & Ferreiro, 2022), Croatia (Hanák et al, 2020), Germany (Parrado et al, 2018), and the United States (Hawkins et al, 2011b). On the other hand, the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia also shows a significant contribution with three documents funded in Portugal.…”

Alimentación escolar y compra pública sostenible. Estudio sobre la presencia de la alimentación procedente de la agricultura familiar en los menús escolares

“…La mayoría de ellos cuentan con un programa nacional, pero su aplicación no supera el 40 % del volumen total de compra pública (Melón, 2021). En segundo lugar, se apunta que el alcance de las estrategias de compra pública alimentaria está sujeto al contexto en el que éstas se desarrollan (Barling et al, 2013, Bizarro y Ferreiro, 2022 y, al compromiso de quienes preparan y diseñar los menús en las instituciones públicas (Sanz-Sanz et al, 2022). Además, en los procedimientos de contratación pública sigue prevaleciendo el uso del precio más bajo como único criterio de adjudicación (European Public Health Alliance, 2019).…”