By Mariana Meirelles (*)
A silent and still extremely slow revolution has been redefining the Brazilian public administration's purchasing pattern, with the creation of markets for sustainable products and services. In isolation, the numbers are promising, but in the general context of public budgets they are still not very representative. According to the Federal Government's Purchasing Portal, approximately R$29.4 million in goods and services with environmental criteria were purchased between January and November 2012 (more than in 2010), and today there are more than 750 items registered as sustainable in the Federal Material Cataloging System.
However, when we apply this evolution to the calculation base, we realize that there is still a long way to go. The amount of federal public purchases of sustainable products and services represents only 0.1% of the total, equivalent to R$$ 29.1 billion. This still modest volume reveals enormous potential opportunities for green businesses in the short term.
The legal instruments are practically defined. In the federal government, a new legal framework has been established since 2010, with the publication of Law 12,349 – which amended the Public Procurement Law (Law 8,666) -, Decree 7,746 and Normative Instruction No. 10. All of these standards were produced to establish criteria, practices and general guidelines with a view to promoting sustainable development through public procurement.
State governments are following the same path, some more advanced, others still searching for this new horizon. It is worth mentioning the example of what has been happening in two states. Since 2006, the government of Minas Gerais has considered sustainability in the Strategic Supply Management (GES) project, which guides the public procurement policy in the state. In December 2012, Decree 46.105 was published, consolidating the sustainable procurement policy of Minas Gerais and making it mandatory to adopt sustainability criteria that had already been observed in purchases made by the state government.
In Rio, the government began adopting sustainability criteria in public procurement and public works tenders in 2011. One example is the renovation of the Maracanã, which will be completed for the Confederations Cup in the first half of this year and will include a rainwater collection system, recycled chairs and waste reuse.
Government purchases account for around 15% of GDP. This volume of resources is capable of boosting important sectors of the Brazilian economy and inducing changes in production and consumption. The revolution in the legal framework establishing new rules for purchasing products and contracting services should be observed more closely by companies and society as a whole.
(*) Mariana Meirelles is executive vice-president of CEBDS
