The “Public Affairs: Mobilising action for Fair Trade Public Procurement” project is co-funded by the European Union and aims to promote Fair Trade considerations in public procurement, which currently accounts for around 16% of the EU’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The main goal of the project is to enable a growing number of public authorities to use public procurement as a tool to combat poverty and contribute to sustainable development by systematically including Fair Trade criteria into their procurement policies and practices. The project is led by the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA), with partners Fair Trade Organisations, IDEAS (Spain), CTM Altromercato (Italy) and OWW (Belgium) and ICLEI, Local Authorities for Sustainability.

The Public Affairs team needs you! They are currently conducting research about Fair Trade and Public Procurement at the national and European level to identify existing best practice and create a European model for Fair Trade Public Procurement. If you know public purchasers with best practice to share and want to be part of shaping the future of Fair Trade in European Public Procurement, please take this opportunity to make sure their example helps and inspires other local authorities to bring about positive change. Please share your story and get in touch - assistant@eftafairtrade.org!

To find out more, please visit the project’s new website - the European Observatory - to find top tips and case studies, including guides on Fair Trade Public Procurement, relevant European Union legislation, past newsletters, best practices and much more…

In order to raise greater awareness on Fair Trade Public Procurement with different stakeholders, the project also runs seminars and workshops, school lessons and training courses for local and European Fair Trade volunteers as well as public authorities.

The Public Affairs Project and partners, with the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO), have been following the developments within the European Union Institutions regarding Fair Trade and Public Procurement and advocating for the European legislation to be as favourable to Fair Trade Public Procurement as possible. Watch this space for the latest updates!