Spain: Public Administrations and ethical purchasing

Public Administrations daily consume goods and services which in terms of purchasing amount to 16% the European Union?s GDP. So it would be very important that they committed themselves with ethical purchasing.

This is the purpose of an initiative called ?Fair Procura? in which Italian, Belgian, Dutch and Spanish organisations are currently involved. Its specific aim is making public authorities and institutional purchasers aware of the role that public purchasing plays in sustainable development. According to the spokesperson for the Spanish NGO associated to this project, IDEAS, Public Administrations should give priority to those providers that are more respectful of working conditions, above all in developing countries. Public contracts should comply with the working conditions that the International Labour Organisation has established, such as not resorting to child labour, respecting workers? rights and paying women and men decent and egalitarian wages.

In Spain there are already some initiatives of responsible purchasing by Public Administrations. The Barcelona town council, for instance, has introduced coffee machines which deliver free trade coffee. This is also the case of the Basque Government, while when using shirts in promotional campaigns the Andalusian Government always uses articles made with ecological cotton and fair trade products.

This is an important moment because the Spanish Parliament is currently debating the bill on contracts in the public sector, which is to be adapted to European Directives and for the first time mentions fair trade. In this regard, IDEAS has made proposals for amendments in order to improve the section devoted to fair trade, which this NGO is of the opinion it should be more explicit and clearer in order to avoid abuses and that less demanding standards are accepted.

More information on: http://www.ideas.coop