Copenhagen’s SchoolFood4Change team, consisting of procurement lawyers and food experts, has set ambitious goals for the procurement of food for the municipality’s public institutions and the positive impact of these procurement measures!
The city wants to ensure that Copenhagen’s large municipal food system supports both healthy diets and the city’s sustainable climate goals, to the great benefit of school children and all inhabitants of the Danish capital. The kitchens run by the municipality must follow the Danish Dietary Guidelines. At the same time, the municipality wants to reduce food waste and make supply chains more sustainable.
Public procurement plays a major role in these efforts. In Copenhagen, procurement tenders (i.e. invitations for supplies to submit bids for the supply of food) not only require suppliers to follow specific dietary guidelines, but also reward them with points, based on how many different varieties of predefined healthy product groups they can deliver. Suppliers also receive points based on the amount of green vehicles they can provide for the delivery of their goods. In addition, the tenders also add a social component by encouraging the employment of people with a distance to the labour market. This approach has proven to create strong incentives for suppliers to think in a “more green” and innovative way.
Copenhagen’s efforts fit the principles of SchoolFood4Change, highlighting that school meals can contribute both to healthier children and to more sustainable food systems. The municipality’s aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has for example led to school children no longer being served red meat. Instead, they get to eat 100% organic food of high quality and great variety. Through its tender, Copenhagen secured the supply of >150 different sorts of seasonal fruits and vegetables, giving its kitchens a wider and more climate-friendly range to choose from.
For Copenhagen’s SchoolFood4Change team, this success is directly related to the city’s clear political mandate. The city was able to develop such ambitious tenders, because it could align its public procurement with the wider municipal sustainability strategy. That makes things easier for both procurers and suppliers. Procurers have specific objectives that they can keep in mind when designing tender requirements, while suppliers receive clarity and direction.
Combining high standards with practical flexibility
Challenges such as market readiness with regard to the delivery of certain products in a specific (high) quantity and also with regard to the increased complexity of the tender can be overcome by engaging stakeholders and suppliers in market dialogue(s) from early on and adjusting requirements where needed. It’s important to understand what is realistic for the market and work closely with the kitchens to make sure they are ready to use more sustainable products.
Copenhagen’s advice to other cities?
Set clear goals, actively use procurement tenders as a green transition tool, and back your work up with internal support!