The fourth edition of CompraVerde-BuyGreen, International Forum of Green Procurement was successfully held in Cremona from 7 to 8 October 2010.  The event confirmed itself as a place for meeting and dialogue between PAs, universities, representatives of the third sector, professional and sectorial associations that have decided to implement choices of social and environmental sustainability through Green Procurement.

The event - promoted by the Province of Cremona, the Italian Association for Local Agenda 21, Region Lombardia, Ecosistemi and Adescoop–Agency for Social Economy in collaboration with many relevant international and national players- has brought together the main actors of GPP, that usually “communicate” through tenders and administrative documentation, and that have instead physically met in the exhibition area, at cultural appointments, seminars and technical workshops.

In a moment of global crisis like the one that the economy is going through, the event in Cremona has confirmed that “buying green” helps the environment, saves money and supports the green economy. If this is the choice of local authorities, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, universities, … the result is the necessary and desired reduction of public expenditure, besides the abatement of environmental impacts.

The special initiatives promoted by the event also had a big echo:
GreenContact, the first Green Purchasing Market Place in Italy, registered a wide participation of public authorities, enterprises and non-profit organizations, with more than 450 one-to-one meetings to favour the encounter between demand and offer of green products and services.
Over the three days the winners of the “CompraVerde Award -best green tender and best GPP policy” and of the “MensaVerde Award” were awarded: both initiatives saw the participation of organizations from all over Italy.
The “National GPP Day” that took place on 9 October, promoted by the Life+ project GPPinfoNET-The Green Public Procurement Information Network, concluded the “Marathon of Green Procurement”, a series of initiatives to promote the culture and the best practices of green procurement at national level. In this occasion the CompraVerde spot was also presented, now  available on the Forum’s website.