circular procurement

Circular procurement means integrating circular economy principles into public purchasing — keeping products and materials in use as long as possible rather than following a linear "take, make, dispose" model. The European Commission defines it as purchasing works, goods, or services that contribute to closed energy and material loops within supply chains while minimising waste throughout the life cycle.

How does circular procurement work?

Circular procurement follows the waste hierarchy, which prioritises preventing waste over managing it. In practice, this means contracting authorities consider circular alternatives at every stage of the procurement process — from needs assessment through to contract management.

A practical example: Instead of buying new office furniture, a public body can procure refurbished items or enter a product-as-a-service contract where the supplier retains ownership and handles maintenance, repair, and end-of-life take-back. This gives suppliers a direct incentive to design for durability.

Circular requirements can be embedded as award criteria, in the requirements specification, or as contract conditions. Under EU Directive 2014/24/EU, life cycle costing can be used to make the total cost of circular solutions visible compared to linear alternatives.

Key principles

• Waste prevention: Assess whether the need can be met without new procurement — through reuse, repair, or sharing
• Extended product life: Require products designed for durability, repairability, and upgradability
• Closed material loops: Prioritise recycled or recyclable materials and require supplier take-back schemes
• Market engagement: Use dialogue conferences to explore which circular solutions the market can deliver
• Life cycle perspective: Evaluate total costs across the product's full life cycle, not just purchase price

Tools like Cobrief can help suppliers identify public tenders where circular criteria are weighted, allowing them to tailor their bids to the contracting authority's requirements.

Circular procurement is increasingly central to EU purchasing policy, supported by the European Green Deal and Directive 2014/24/EU. While green public procurement broadly targets environmental impact, circular procurement focuses specifically on keeping resources in the loop as long as possible. In Norway, the government's circular economy action plan and DFØ's procurement guidance provide a national framework for applying these principles.