Circular and Sustainable Public Procurement for ICTs

This guide was developed in coordination with the development of Recommendation ITU-T L.1061 “Circular public procurement of information and communication technologies”, acting as a ‘how-to’ companion to many concepts in this and other ITU Recommendations.​

The guide also supports governments and other public buyers implementing GovStack in procuring e-services consistently with sustainability and circular economy principles. Through GovStack, reusing the same components and software in multiple government initiatives instead of constantly reinventing the wheel reduces cost, opens digital siloes, and makes coordination easier. The GovStack approaches, including the GovStack SandBox, can support sustainability in ICT procurement by promoting the reuse of digital public goods. ​

Three levels of guidance

Three levels of circular and sustainable ICT procurement necessary for getting started or improving are covered in the guide.

Starting with policy and strategy: it is policy for circular and sustainable ICT procurement that sets the guiding principles and goals that allow governments or organization to make the necessary decisions. The strategy is the plan and communicated ambitions for circular and sustainable ICT procurement that set the agenda for procurers and suppliers.

Next, the guide focuses on creating the conditions. These are the practical steps for capacity building, target setting, and generally enabling circular and sustainable ICT procurement within government agencies and public authorities.

Finally, the procurement processes section provides methods, approaches, and cases of application for circular and sustainable procurement of ICTs on the ground. 

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