Lead: ITU, GEC
Integrating circularity criteria into organizational procurement processes can drive major purchasers of electronic products and services towards increased circularity, influencing overall market demand. In order to support public and private sector entities to do this, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Global Electronics Council developed in coordination several assets with the participation of member companies and other stakeholders.
Focusing on public sector procurement, the ITU developed:
- An International standard on circular public procurement of information and communication technologies ITU-T L.1061 (03/2023).
- The Circular and sustainable public procurement – ICT equipment guide
This is a guide for governments and other public sector organizations that procure information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, systems and services. It sets out the systems and process requirements for ICT procurement in a way that supports the transition to circular and sustainable system solutions. It considers the need for policy and strategy, setting the conditions for and building circular and sustainable design into procurement processes.
- Complementary e-learning course, “Circular and Sustainable Public Procurement for ICTs”.
The ITU guide and the e-learning are a product of the global GovStack initiative led by ITU, funded by the by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
In coordination with the ITU project, GEC led the development of a Purchaser Guide for Circularity, which offers purchasers circular procurement questions to ask their technology suppliers and identifies credible supporting documentation suppliers can offer in response. By offering a common set of questions and outlining common documentation for responses, this guide works to create a consistency that organizations can leverage in their sustainability and circularity reporting processes.
For more information, please contact the CEP Secretariat at info@CEP2030.org.
