Sustainable public procurement and the European Green Deal- New BHRE Brief

On 1 December 2021, Professor Olga Martin-Ortega appeared as an expret before the European Parliament in its Public Hearing on ‘Sustainable public procurement: using the full potential of public buying to achieve goals of the European Green Deal’.. The Hearing was organised by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection in association with Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and chaired by MEPs Anna Cavazzini (IMCO Chair) and Pascal Canfin (ENVI Chair). The video of the hearing, as well as the presentations of the speakers at the IMCO website. Dr. Marta Andhov, also a member of the SAPIENS Network, provided evidence in the same panel.

Following her intervention we have prepared a Policy Brief: Sustainable public procurement: Strengthening the social and human rights dimensions of SPP in the framework of the European Green Deal (BHRE Research Series. Policy Brief 1. December 2021). This Brief focuses on the link between sustainable public procurement and human rights in the context of the social and external dimensions of the Green Deal. It provides insights and recommendations to strengthen sustainable procurement’s role as a powerful tool for achieving the European Green Deal’s goals both in and outside the EU borders. Access the Brief here and in our Resources page.

TEDx University of Greenwich: Changing the World One Tender at a Time: Public Procurement and Human Rights

Last week, we were so proud to have our BHRE lead, Prof Olga Martin-Ortega speak in TEDx University of Greenwich, where the theme was Journeys. Olga spoke about public procurement and human rights with over 10 years of experience in the field, defining what public procurement means, giving a very interesting perspective.

This was the very first event hosted by the University, which was produced through an innovative virtual production technology inside a physical theatre space! We cannot wait to watch it once it has launched!

Fashion Detox Challenge just got easier with the Circular Greenwich Festival!

To celebrate Green week, the BHRE team once again got together to host a clothes swap along with a repair station where sustainable consumption practices and knowledge was shared and promoted with a view to providing solutions which can be easily replicated and action can be taken both at a collective and individual level.

The success of the event was demonstrated through the circulation of 98 garments, which were bought and swapped, encouraging slower consumption behaviours and less C02 emissions. The images show a true representation that the Circular Greenwich Festival was successful in intending to create a space in the minds of the Greenwich community for mobilising towards the reduction of waste to ensure a sustainable future for our community!