Sustainable Public Procurement: Practices and Policies

Dear Colleagues,

As global environmental challenges continue to escalate, sustainability has become a major focus for governments, businesses, and individuals alike. One important area of sustainability is public procurement, which refers to the purchasing of goods and services by public entities such as government agencies and municipalities.

Public procurement can play a critical role in promoting sustainability, as it accounts for a significant portion of overall consumption and has the potential to influence market demand and drive innovation in sustainable practices. By incorporating sustainability criteria into their procurement processes, public entities can reduce their environmental footprint, promote social responsibility, and support the development of a green economy.

However, implementing sustainable procurement practices can be challenging, as it requires overcoming a range of technical, financial, and organizational barriers. Additionally, the complex and fragmented nature of the public procurement landscape, with multiple stakeholders and levels of governance involved, adds an additional layer of complexity.

This academic journal seeks to explore the role of public procurement in promoting sustainability, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities faced by public entities in implementing sustainable procurement practices. The journal aims to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives from scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to advance understanding and provide practical guidance on sustainable procurement in the public sector.

Contributions are welcomed on a range of topics related to sustainable public procurement, including but not limited to:

• Best practices in sustainable procurement;
• Approaches to measuring and evaluating the sustainability impact of procurement;
• Strategies for overcoming barriers to sustainable procurement implementation;
• Policy frameworks and regulations to support sustainable procurement;
• Innovative procurement models and collaborations for sustainability;
• The role of public procurement in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Case studies and empirical research on sustainable procurement in practice,

We hope that this journal will contribute to advancing sustainable procurement practices in the public sector, and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable future for all.

Prof. Dr. Paul Davis
Dr. David McKevitt
Dr. Clifford McCue
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• public procurement
• sustainability
• innovation
• policy frameworks