Green procurement: implemented by local authorities in only 57 per cent of cases
Legambiente’s monitoring in collaboration with Fondazione Ecosistemi: green public procurement (GPP) or minimum environmental criteria (CAM) are not being used
Green procurement: by 2026, it will be implemented by local authorities in 57 per cent of cases. This figure was calculated by Legambiente in the section on local authorities and regional capitals in the 2026 Report by the Green Procurement Observatory – a joint initiative between Legambiente and the Ecosistemi Foundation – which will be presented on 2 July as part of Ecoforum.
This means that in 43% of cases, municipal procurement contracts do not implement green public procurement (GPP) or do not apply the minimum environmental criteria (CAM). Although GPP and the use of CAMs have been mandatory in Italia since 2016 – first under the old Public Procurement Code, and subsequently confirmed in the new one (Decree-Law No. 36 of 31 March 2023).
This represents a national increase of around two points compared with the 2025 survey, but one that fails to reflect the significant potential that remains untapped. And the aim of ‘civic monitoring’ – as Legambiente calls it – is precisely to raise awareness that more can and must be done. Especially in smaller towns.
The survey – carried out on a sample of 531 municipalities (7 per cent of all Italian municipalities, including 51 provincial capitals) that responded to the dedicated questionnaire – shows that provincial capitals achieve a performance rate of 77 per cent, compared with 55 per cent for the others: “It is clear that large cities, which are better structured and organised administratively, are able to implement GPP policies more effectively and ensure compliance with the Environmental Criteria (CAM) in tendering procedures compared to smaller municipalities,” observes Andrea Minutolo, scientific director at Legambiente.
One of the main challenges is the lack of adequate training and professional development for officials who draft tender notices and are responsible for public procurement. “The other issue is to introduce a system of rewards for exemplary contracting authorities and penalties for those that fail to comply with the law,” adds Legambiente’s president, Stefano Ciafani.
