Municipal green procurement
Hamburg
In 2016, the senate of the city of Hamburg introduced mandatory “Green Procurement Guidelines” for public procurement. The guidelines impose more eco-friendly choices of products and a ban on the purchase of a certain number of items, such as plastic bottles and coffee capsules.
Following the ban on single-use bottles – including those eligible for deposit returns – in public buildings, green alternatives such as drinking-water fountains and jugs are now provided. Reusable cups were introduced in several public institutions, which saves up to 675,000 single-use plastic cups a year.
As well as being more environmentally friendly, purchasing longer-lifetime, reusable products is less expensive than repeatedly buying limited-lifecycle products.
