An Analysis of the Barriers to and Drivers of Green Public Procurement in Achieving a More Sustainable Construction Industry

The public sector in Ireland possesses enormous purchasing power which has the strength to affect production and consumption trends in all market sectors. Environmental purchasing tools such as Green Public Procurement (GPP) are seen by many as the solution to greener purchasing decisions in order to obtain and maintain not only a more sustainable construction sector but also a more sustainable economy. The purpose of this research is to determine and examine the key barriers to and drivers of implementing GPP in public procurement departments in order to reduce the effect construction works have on the environment. There was limited literature on the uptake of GPP in Ireland so the focus was on the uptake of GPP among EU member states. After analysing all aspects of GPP in the literature review, questionnaires were distributed to all key stakeholders of GPP to establish its uptake in Ireland while also indentifying its barriers and drivers. Finally, two interviews were carried out with industry professionals to add more depth to the questionnaire’s findings. In compiling the results and findings from these interviews and questionnaires it was apparent that the uptake of GPP as an environmental tool among public procurement departments is extremely slow and non-existent in most cases. The findings highlight the key barriers such as the perception that greener products and services are more expensive, lack of resources, lack of training and lack of support from higher authorities. However there does seem to be a drive from higher authorities towards implementing GPP in the form of regulations and legislation.