BDE criticises the amendment to public procurement law

The BDE criticises the draft bill on the Public Procurement Acceleration Act. The draft bill contains no strategic impetus for the recycling industry. The association is calling for clear incentives and binding requirements for climate-friendly procurement.

The Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Recycling Industry (BDE) has sharply criticised the current draft bill from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) on the Public Procurement Acceleration Act. In the view of the association the draft misses key opportunities for greater sustainability, especially in the area of public procurement.

„The draft is not ambitious enough for the major goal of a functioning circular economy,“ explained BDE President Anja Siegesmund. She emphasised the central role of the circular economy for sustainable growth in Europe: Green public procurement is a decisive lever - but this remains largely unutilised in the current version.

„The circular economy must be seen as a central and strategic component of national economic policy. This is particularly true in view of the major contribution to climate protection that the use of recycled raw materials and recycling makes. In light of the enormous investment backlog, it is right and important to speed up public procurement and get rid of bureaucratic ballast. However, it remains at least as important to provide the right incentives for the necessary transformation of the economy towards a genuine circular economy. The imminent billions in public spending must be invested in the resilience of Germany as a business location with a view to the future. The strategic role of the use of recycled raw materials - and thus the opportunity for greater independence from raw material imports from third countries - has not yet been taken into account in the draft.“

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Anja Siegesmund, BDE President

The BDE is particularly critical of the planned deletion of Section 120a ARC - which is to be replaced in the draft Procurement Law Transformation Act 2024 as was intended as a central instrument for sustainable public procurement. According to Siegesmund, the cancellation sends the „completely wrong signal“ and disregards the importance of recycled materials for climate protection and security of supply.

Binding specifications required

Siegesmund adds: „At the very least, binding targets are needed for the infrastructure projects financed from the „Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality“ special fund in order to achieve the associated goal of climate neutrality by 2045.“ The BDE is therefore calling for the federal government to issue a legal ordinance by 30 June 2026 at the latest, at least for the procurement of climate-friendly services. Particular attention should be paid to the use of waste or recycled materials, because if these are used instead of new materials, they generally make a significant contribution to climate protection, the statement says.

Recycling label required - for more transparency and a reduction in bureaucracy

In its statement, the BDE also reiterates its call for a comprehensible, state recycling label that provides transparent information on the use of recyclates and the recyclability of a product. Such a label would make sustainable procurement much easier for the public sector. Siegesmund: „A recycling label would be a real boost for sustainable procurement. At the same time, it would make a concrete contribution to reducing bureaucracy.“

Source: BDE