Increasing the role of sustainability in public procurement of personal protective equipment

Sustainability in producing and procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) has become increasingly important in recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic multiplied their usage worldwide. PPE is mostly produced from fossil-based plastic materials, which burdens the environment. We investigate how sustainability from environmental and social perspectives was considered in public tenders in a non-strategic category of PPE during the pandemic, and what were the most relevant enablers and barriers for healthcare procurement units to implement sustainable procurement practices in their procurement actions. Literature review focused on barriers and enablers of sustainable procurement. We interviewed procurement managers and specialists in Finnish healthcare organizations. The transcribed interviews were examined using the inductive content analysis. Sustainability is limitedly considered in public tenders, even though the EU directive on public procurement and national legislation encourages sustainability. Lack of local production, infrastructure for purification and reuse, financial and human resources, organizational level actions and end-users’ perceptions appear to be the most significant barriers for public procurement units. Due to these factors, sustainability was not the decisive factor in selecting providers for PPE during in the pandemic. Sustainability is often highlighted in relation to public sector and especially public procurement, but according to our findings it shows significantly less in actual procurement practices. Efforts are required to both offer more sustainable PPE in the market and developing the recycling and reuse processes in healthcare.