In the wake of growing environmental challenges, the need for governments to adopt sustainable practices has never been more urgent. Public pressure, with citizens ranking climate change among their top concerns according to the OECD's latest Determinants of Trust survey (OCDE, 2024[1]), is forcing governments and public institutions to implement proactive, comprehensive policies.
In this context, the French government has set a number of sustainable development objectives, such as achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, reducing pressure on biodiversity by 2030, and a 33% share of renewable energies in gross final energy consumption by 2030.
In France, as in most OECD countries, public procurement is seen as a strategic lever for achieving these objectives. Green public procurement (GPP), i.e., the public purchase of products and services that are more respectful of the environment, is being increasingly used by countries to achieve their sustainable development objectives. The results of a survey conducted in 34 OECD countries in 2022 show that 94% of the countries surveyed had a national policy or framework for GPP. GPP encourages businesses to develop more environmentally friendly products, services and works, particularly in sectors where public authorities account for a large share of spending, such as infrastructure, health services and public transport.
In France, the law to tackle climate change and strengthen resilience (the Climate and Resilience Law) of August 22, 2021, incorporates proposals from the Citizens' Climate Convention, and requires the inclusion of environmental considerations in all public procurement processes by 2026. However, to comply with these obligations, the capacity of procurement officers is essential in order for them to be able to introduce more complex dimensions into the assessment of value for money in public contracts.
This report takes stock of the capacity of the French State's procurement workforce to implement environmental considerations in public procurement, and aims to identify existing opportunities to enhance the knowledge and wider skills of State procurement officers. It is part of the “Promoting the use of strategic and green public procurement in France” project, financed by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the OECD in cooperation with the European Commission's Directorate General for Structural Reform Support.
This project complements the OECD's work on the professionalization of the procurement workforce, an essential step towards the strategic use of public procurement to boost citizens' trust in governments' ability to solve complex problems.
This report was approved by the Public Governance Committee on 2 June 2025 and prepared for publication by the Secretariat.