Capital city Oslo is the economic hub of Norway, and its ambition to be a green, inclusive and smart city has also made it a champion of sustainable procurement. The city has been pursuing sustainable procurement actions for many years, and has placed a particular focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing responsible purchasing, and increasing the share of organic food.
 | 600k Population |
 | 50k Employees |
 | 2012 Date joined |
Katja Khardikova
Head of Responsible Procurement
More information? Email procurement@iclei.org
In October 2017, Oslo adopted a new Procurement Strategy in order to continue to reinforce its commitment to sustainable procurement. The main goal of the strategy is the delivery of good and socially responsible solutions in both the short and long term, which are appropriate and cost-efficient.
The Procurement Strategy has four sub-targets, which seek to ensure that Oslo's procurement effectively contributes to providing citizens and businesses with solutions and services in line with current and future needs, as well as make Oslo greener, more socially inclusive and fair, and a smarter and more innovative city.
The Strategy is also aligned with Oslo's Climate Budget, which was adopted after the Paris Agreement. The Climate Budget includes 42 measures quantifying the emission cuts needed by 2020, and integrates these into the Financial Budget. It was the first budget of its kind worldwide. Both the Procurement Strategy and the Climate Budget are built around the three focus areas of 'transport', 'energy and buildings' and 'resource efficiency'.
As a participant in the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement, Oslo has committed to leading by example globally on SPP.
SPP TARGETSOslo is part of the Nordic Green Growth City Network working group on creating a green market through public procurement, alongside the cities of Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Espoo and Vantaa. The objective is to get a common view on the state of the art on market dialogue as a way to create a greener market. The long term aim of the group is to define core elements of a systematic and efficient approach to market dialogue in order to achieve SPP. Best practices and recommendations for other cities will be produced, and a series of workshops will build capacity in the cities.
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PROCUREMENTOslo is committed to socially responsible procurement, and requires that all its suppliers follow either the ILO Fundamental Conventions or the United Nations Global Compact. In 2013, Oslo also established a framework agreement on contract management in supply chains (case study available). It also invited all Norwegian public institutions to participate in the framework, which helped underlie the importance of social responsibility when signalling to the market.
68 government entities have joined Oslo’s initiative to facilitate contract monitoring of ethical standards in their supply chains. This accomplishment sends a clear signal to the supplier market that public entities are conscious of and committed to their ethical and social responsibilities. Oslo established this project in partnership with the Norwegian Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi).
An important aspect of this project is to share the reports from the various audits on the Procurement Portal (Anskaffelsesportalen) on the Municipality’s website. A common framework where participants share their own reports with the other participants will make the cost of supplier monitoring significantly lower, compared to each institution buying the same service. Suppliers will also save time and money by reaching out to more buyers with the same information.
KEEPING TRACK OF SPPOslo is currently planning their SPP targets in alignment with UN GRI indicators, its own internal procurement strategy and guidelines, and its commitments to the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement. All 50 of Oslo’s agencies have to report on these three initiatives, so the city is aiming to make monitoring as streamlined and connected as possible.
Oslo is the 'EV Capital of the World' in large part due to local and national authorities efforts to stimulate demand for zero emission vehicles. For example, Oslo has operated a framework agreement for the for the purchase and leasing of electric service vehicles for all municipal activities since 2013. As of 2017, around 50% of the City's 1100 vehicles are electric, and it is currently working on a new EV framework and carrying out market dialogue in preparation for this.
In 2016 also Oslo participated in BuyZET, a EU Horizon 2020 project coordinated by ICLEI on the procurement of innovative solutions for zero emission delivery of goods and services in cities. BuyZET worked with participating cities to develop procurement plans to minimise the number, distance and disruptiveness of delivery vehicle trips in the city, and maximise the proportion of these trips made in zero emission vehicles.
The city has also started a pilot on using public procurement to encourage the use of zero emission vehicles and machinery in construction projects.
Oslo Green Capital overview document
Framework Agreement for zero emission vehicles
Case study: reducing emissions in construction projects
Case study: renewable heating systems for schools
Case study: cooperation on including social responsibility in contracts
BuyZET: Oslo Procurement Plan for zero emission transport
BuyZET: Oslo Gren Public Procurement Guidance
BuyZET: Market Engagement Report: Maintenance and Service and Facility Waste
For further information on the activities of Oslo visit their website:
or email procurement@iclei.org
