Addressing Sustainability within Public Procurement of Food: A Systematic Literature Review

Elvira Molin, Michael Martin and Anna Björklund
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Elvira Molin: IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Life Cycle Management, Sustainable Society, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
Michael Martin: IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Life Cycle Management, Sustainable Society, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
Anna Björklund: Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-21

Abstract: Public procurement has been recognized as a tool to promote more sustainable production and consumption practices. As such, an increasing body of literature has become available in recent years focusing on the sustainable public procurement of food. This article reviews the literature on the sustainable public procurement of food with the aim to analyze how sustainability is framed. This is done by analyzing what aspects of sustainability are emphasized and what practices are identified as sustainable. A systematic literature review was conducted between the years 2000 and 2020, identifying 103 articles. Results from the literature review indicate that the focus has primarily been on studies to evaluate and explore policy and good practices for procuring sustainable foods. A dominant focus on specific foods types and origins, e.g., those locally sourced and organic foods, is highlighted by a large share of the literature to address all three sustainability pillars. We observed that most articles focus on all three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic), addressing different aspects and types of foods, although the focus varied depending upon geographic location. Despite many studies identifying opportunities and potential, few articles assess the sustainability or outcomes of procurement processes through quantitative or qualitative methods or how actors in the procurement process can improve procurement toward more sustainable foods. This indicates a need for further case studies and guidelines to measure the development, progress, and performance of public food procurement.

Keywords: public procurement; food; sustainable; policy; purchase; organic; local; green public procurement (GPP); sustainable public procurement (SPP) (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 (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:23:p:13395-:d:694552

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