A Grounded Theory on Sustainable Circular Public Procurement in Germany: Specific Product Case and Strategies

Simone Wurster, Rita Schulze, Ramona G. Simon and Stefan Hoyer
Additional contact information
Simone Wurster: Department of Innovation Economics, Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), 10587 Berlin, Germany
Rita Schulze: DECHEMA e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Ramona G. Simon: DECHEMA e.V., Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Stefan Hoyer: Department of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09107 Chemnitz, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-29

Abstract: By using its purchasing power to procure environmentally friendly goods and services, the public sector can significantly contribute to sustainability in production and consumption. The sector’s support is also needed for the development of a circular economy (CE), but the absence of a suitable procurement practice often constitutes a barrier. A pressing example for a global need to develop the CE further exists in the tyre context. By the end of 2030, the number of end-of-life tyres (ELT) is expected to rise significantly. This article analyses the role and situation of public procurement and the necessity of quality infrastructure elements to support a sustainable tyre CE in the European Union’s member state Germany. It relies on a multiple case case study-based Grounded Theory approach and 22 interviews with public procurement professionals. Five types of barriers for sustainable circular tyre procurement were identified, concerning regulatory, technical, social, market, and ecological aspects. Possible strategies to overcome them were developed, leading to 14 recommendations for German policymakers and public procurement organisations. In particular, the recommendations focus on the two quality infrastructure elements ‘standards’ and ‘labelling’, with four standardization aspects and eight labelling topics in total.

Keywords: circular economy; public procurement; sustainability; tyres; policy instruments; quality infrastructure; Grounded Theory (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)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13525/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13525/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13525-:d:696839

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().