PROCURA+ HOT TOPIC TABLES

The hot topic tables foster discussions between small groups of Seminar attendees. Table participants (up to 12 persons) will exchange ideas on new approaches, barriers and solutions, examples, mechanisms and necessary support to progress in specific topic areas (to be suggested by table host). There will be 2 x 30 minutes sessions, which provide the Seminar attendees with the opportunity to visit two tables in the hour. Hosts therefore be prepared to repeat their format twice.

1. City of Haarlem (NL) / Urban Agenda- Strategic Procurement for a Resilient Future: Integrating Sustainability, Innovation, Social Value & Circularity

This session will explore a holistic model of strategic procurement that integrates sustainable, innovative, social, and circular practices into a cohesive, future-facing strategy.
Participants will:

• Understand the core pillars of a holistic strategic procurement framework.
• Explore how sustainable, innovative, socially responsible, and circular procurement practices interconnect and reinforce each other.
• Learn from practical examples where integrated procurement strategies led to measurable impact.
• dentify tools and methods to embed these principles into procurement processes and supplier relationships.
• Engage in a dialogue on challenges, risks, and enablers to adoption.

2. RESECO- Two tools to involve and convince technical departments and elective representatives on sustainable procurement

RESECO wishes to describe the work it has been doing to help political decision-makers and support staff to take action. The National Sustainable Procurement Plan sets a target of 100% of public procurement including an environmental dimension and 30% including a social dimension by 2026. The association relies on its 155 members, whose development it supports through the tools that it would like to present at this round table. 

3. City of Oslo (NO)- Human Rights Due Diligence as a means for increased supply chain transparency

Lack of transparency and traceability in the ICT sector is a continuous challenge. This is problematic for public buyers as such information is needed to confirm whether they are linked to production sites where violations of human rights and labour rights are happening. This presents a significant ethical and reputational risk to public buyers. It also prevents public buyers from cooperating with remedy in instances where they may be linked to the identified harms. Furthermore, supply chain security and traceability and transparency in supply chains are closely connected. The U.S. Administration’s recent tariffs on major manufacturing countries (and threats thereof) have raised legitimate questions about the security of supply and pricing. Public buyers need product-level traceability in order to identify, assess and mitigate related risks.  On this hot topic table the City of Oslo will share its experiences with including human rights due diligence requirements in its tenders and contracts, and how this has led to greater awareness and sharing of information from suppliers and sub-suppliers (brands). This is work Oslo has done in collaboration with Electronics Watch.

4. Greater London Authority (UK)- Opening supply chains to small and diverse-owned businesses

One of the key commitments of the Greater London Authority Group's Responsible Procurement Policy and Delivery Plan is 'Open up our supply chains to small and diverse-owned businesses'. GLA has engaged with the community of small and diverse businesses in London to understand the barriers they experience and then worked with its procurement and finance teams to address these. Amongst other initiatives, GLA has used the provision to reserve contracts for SMEs and pay SME suppliers within 10 days. GLA is currently scoping an approach of using tier 1 suppliers to mentor SMEs. Transport for London has been shortlisted for their work in this area in this year's Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply awards. At this hot topic table GLA will describe the initiatives it has underway, the progress to date and the challenges, and then open up a discussion to share experiences, aspirations and challenges in this space.

5. ICLEI Europe- Shaping innovation procurement policies for a sustainable future

Innovation procurement can support the uptake of novel, sustainable, circular solutions. By addressing barriers to the uptake of innovation procurement practices, upcoming EU and national regulations can provide a legislative framework that supports the procurement of sustainable and innovative solutions. During this Hot Topic Table, participants will discuss their experiences and challenges with innovation procurement. The inisghts of this disscussion will feed into the EU-Funded Innomatch project's advocacy and policy work. It aims to bring examples and evidence from the ground to relevant policymakers. 

6. City of Ghent (BE)- Using AI and LLMs to Shape the Future of Public Procurement

Artificial intelligence offers a spectrum of tools to transform public procurement—from predictive analytics for spend forecasting and supplier risk scoring to robotic process automation for invoice handling and compliance checks. In this session, the City of Ghent will survey these applications and dive deeper into one high‑impact use case which it is trying to develop: leveraging large language models (LLMs) to draft tender documents (technical specifications, award criteria, legal clauses) based on historical contracts and structured prompts. 

7. Strategic Investment Board Northern Ireland- Sustainable Procurement in Action: Monitoring, Managing, Measuring

How do we manage sustainable procurement commitments once contracts are awarded? How do we foster meaningful delivery that contributes to positive change?
In Northern Ireland, there are several levers to encourage the delivery of sustainable procurement requirements across Central Government contracts such as: 

• Procurement policy basis for contract management;
• A bespoke monitoring system;
• Mandatory Key Performance Indicators; 
• Regular reporting to senior leaders and politicians;  
• Training and resources for suppliers, including brokerage database;
• Training & resources for Contract Managers. 

8. ICLEI Europe- The Revision of the EC Procurement Directives - Internal Procura+ Focus Group meeting

During this session, Procura+ participants will discuss the current Advocacy work of the network towards the revision of the EC Procurement DIrectives.

9. Province of Zeeland- Circular Building Label – K&I Network Circular Building Zeeland

Professionals in the building sector often struggle with circular construction — not because of a lack of will, but due to too many tools and vague definitions. That’s why Zeeland's working group within the K&I Network developed a QuickScan: a practical starting point to assess the circular potential of a building within budget constraints.
Let’s explore together:

• Can we use this QuickScan to guide market offerings and optimize circular features?
• How can we apply it in tenders, and adapt it during the project?
• Could the scan outcome become a reference in bids?
• What conditions should be included?
• And how do we ensure progress is monitored and validated?

10. Province of Zeeland- Monitoring the Impact of GPP

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. That’s why the Province of Zeeland has started embedding GPP ambitions and monitoring into its regular financial reporting. This allows Zeeland to show the actual impact of its public procurement on climate action and resource reuse. However, tracking impact per single purchase order remains a challenge. Currently, all suppliers are asked to report their impact upon order confirmation — but how ca this be more effective?                                 
Join the discussion:

• How can we gather better feedback at the individual order level?
• Should reporting be mandatory, or can we raise awareness by highlighting the benefits for CSRD and sustainability reporting?

11. Rijkswaterstaat- Sustainable ICT procurement and beyond: from vision to action

Sustainable ICT procurement is often seen as complex, yet it can be translated into practical and effective strategies. This session explores how the Circular and Fair ICT (CFIT) Pact, an international collaboration of public and knowledge supporting organisations, bridges ambition and practice. By fostering a shared vision and harmonized criteria, CFIT helps streamline procurement processes, provide clear market signals, and strengthen both resilience and sustainability across ICT supply chains. At the heart of CFIT is a framework built on four interrelated strategies: Buy Less, Buy Better, Use Better, and Use Longer. These strategies target key impact areas such as circularity and critical raw materials, offering a structured approach to embedding sustainability at every stage of the procurement lifecycle. In this session, participants will engage with how these strategies can be translated into practical actions, reflecting on ways to navigate emerging challenges and opportunities. The discussion emphasizes how lessons learned from ICT procurement can be scaled and adapted to other categories, demonstrating how strategic, circular, and fair approaches to procurement can contribute to broader systemic change.