Program 2026

20 Years of Green Public Procurement: Public Demand as a Driver of Prosperity, Competitiveness and European Industrial Policy

There is a decisive lever in economic policy: public demand. It is through public spending that markets are shaped, value chains are structured, and production standards are defined. Over the past twenty years, Green Public Procurement has progressively transformed public expenditure into a strategic tool capable of influencing development models, innovation and competitiveness.

In Italy, this process began in 2006 with the introduction of a national action plan to promote environmental criteria in public procurement. Ten years later, in 2016, GPP was formally integrated into the Public Procurement Code, making the application of Minimum Environmental Criteria mandatory. Since then, public spending is no longer neutral: it shapes administrative choices, influences business strategies and contributes to redefining markets. Twenty years after the introduction of these policies, and ten years after their full integration into legislation, the time has come to assess their impact and redefine their role.

This reflection comes at a crucial moment for Europe, as it revises the Public Procurement Directive and reshapes its industrial and climate policies. In this context, Green Public Procurement is increasingly recognised as a structural lever of industrial policy, capable of strengthening competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy.

The opening conference of the Forum Compraverde Buygreen 2026 starts from this premise: recognising public demand not only as an implementation tool, but as one of the strategic pillars for steering the transition and shaping Europe’s economic policies in the years ahead.

SPEAKERS

Nicola Procaccini
Member of the European Parliament

Dario Tamburrano
Member of the European Parliament

Giorgio Zampetti
General Director of Legambiente

Enrico Giovannini
Scientific Director of ASVIS – Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development

Renata Zuffi
President of the Coordination of Italian Local Agenda 21

Fabio Iraldo
Full Professor at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa

MODERATOR

Tommaso Giuntella
RAI Journalist