For many years, public procurement was mainly considered an administrative tool: purchasing goods, services and works at the best balance between cost and quality. Today, however, public procurement is facing a much broader question: what lies behind the products and services purchased by public authorities?
From working conditions in global supply chains to the protection of fundamental rights, and from social inclusion to legality and transparency, increasing attention is being paid to the social impact of public procurement. The issue has become even more relevant in light of new European policies on supply chain sustainability and corporate responsibility. Sustainability is no longer limited to environmental aspects, but also concerns the ability to guarantee social and ethical standards throughout the entire supply chain.
In this context, Green Public Procurement is progressively evolving towards a broader concept of responsible procurement, where public administrations can concretely influence production conditions, market dynamics and the protection of people. This is not only about regulatory compliance. The issue concerns the role of public demand itself as a lever capable of steering the market towards fairer, more transparent and inclusive models.
These challenges will be at the centre of the roundtable “Buy the Right Thing: Public Procurement that Protects People”, organised within the framework of Forum Compraverde Buygreen 2026. The discussion will bring together national and international experiences to explore tools, practices and approaches for integrating social criteria into public procurement: from supply chain risk mapping to due diligence processes, as well as the role of specialised organisations and NGOs in verification and monitoring systems.
The conference will take place as part of Forum Compraverde Buygreen 2026, scheduled in Rome on 27–28 May.
To participate: https://www.forumcompraverde.it/partecipanti/
