Integrating Responsible Business Conduct in Public Procurement

Lithuania

1. Policy

The Law on Public Procurement of the Republic of Lithuania is the country’s main regulatory framework and includes the following RBC objectives – additional frameworks apply, depending on the RBC objective:

Environment

Human rights

Labour rights

People with disabilities

Long-term unemployed people

Minority and Gender considerations

Integrity

This aspect is also included in the Law on the Adjustment of the Public and Private Interests in the Civil Service applied in the area of integrity in public procurement. This law requires members of the Public Procurement Commission and people carrying out public procurement procedures to declare their private interests before starting their respective duties.

Strategic frameworks

• Integrity

Both the Lithuanian Government and the Public Procurement Office have approved a number of programs to enhance the importance of integrity, including:

• • The National Anti-Corruption Program for 2015-2025

  • The 2016-2019 Sectorial Program on Prevention of Corruption in Public Procurement

• Environment

Resolution № 828 (2017) of the Government sets specific goals for the percentage of green public procurement procedures in the overall procurement spending. For example, the resolution sets a goal that all public procurement contracts must consider environmental aspects in the award criteria.

2. Implementation

Tender phase

• The Lithuanian Public Procurement Law requires tender documents to include environmental, social and labour rights standards.

• In order to maintain the integrity of public procurement procedures, the contracting authorities may invite representatives of state, municipal institutions or external bodies to play an observer role. The contracting authorities are also entitled to exclude economic operators that have committed criminal acts (for instance, human trafficking or child labour).

• When carrying out simplified procurement procedures, the contracting authorities are obliged to award a minimum of 2% of the total value of their contracts to social enterprises owned by people with disabilities and similar enterprises.

Post-tender phase

• The contracting authority may require special conditions for the performance of a contract related to economic, innovation, social and environmental objectives.

3. Good Practices

• The Lithuanian Government has made it mandatory for all contracting authorities to observe environmental aspects in the award criteria in at least 50 % of their purchases of certain groups of goods and services.