Circular economy in green public procurement procedures: an intermediation perspective in the Italian setting

The concept of circular public procurement has been developed as an approach that extends the green public procurement one, recognising the relevance of circular economy-related dimensions in green public procurement procedures, such as resource reuse and efficiency. This notwithstanding, the circular economy criteria are not made completely explicit in the current green public procurement procedures in the Italian setting. To grasp how a more circular economy can be promoted in Italian green public procurement procedures, the case study of Consip, the major centralised purchasing centre for the most relevant public tenders and supplies in Italy, was conducted. Through a content analysis on secondary sources of information and interviews with experts involved in these procedures, the paper highlights the role played by intermediaries to support supplier companies to establish a relationship with major public purchasing centres and to overcome potential barriers when deciding to approach a green public procurement procedure.