Sustainable Public Procurement in Large Infrastructure Projects—Policy Implementation for Carbon Emission Reductions

Sofia Lingegård, Johanna Alkan Olsson, Anna Kadefors and Stefan Uppenberg
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Sofia Lingegård: Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Johanna Alkan Olsson: Center for Environment and Climate Science, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
Anna Kadefors: Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Stefan Uppenberg: WSP, 121 88 Stockholm, Sweden

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-21

Abstract: The infrastructure construction sector is a significant source of carbon emissions, and more stringent procurement requirements are central to meeting reduction targets in this demand-led and project-based industry. This paper aims to analyze the implementation of international policies for reducing carbon emissions in infrastructure construction, focusing on the interaction between policy ambitions and procurement practices. Based on case studies of large projects and their contexts in five countries worldwide: Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, and the US, a cross-country comparison is performed of how policies and practices for carbon reduction develop across multiple implementation levels. Three levels are included in the analysis: policy, industry, and project level. We identify the projects as either drivers of policy goals, frontrunners in industry-level development processes, or translators of national policy. These roles, and the associated pathways for carbon emission reduction, are context-specific and depend on the policy ambitions at the national or regional level, the maturity of the supplier market, and, often, on the strategies of individual champions at the project level. Long-term learning processes, both within and between the various levels, are essential for advancing carbon reduction.

Keywords: policy implementation; sustainable public procurement; infrastructure; CO 2 reduction; carbon emissions; cross-country comparison; green public procurement; case studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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