Maximising public value through social and circular procurement

As the current Public Procurement Directive turns 10 years old, social enterprises active in the circular economy regularly find themselves locked out of procurement opportunities despite their key role in local job creation and resource efficiency. Namely, RREUSE estimates that social enterprises can create 70 local jobs per 1,000 tonnes of items collected with a view of being reused (1), in so doing boosting workers’ social mobility and skills and simultaneously reducing waste, energy and monetary costs.

In 2023 alone, the RREUSE-wide network of social economy enterprises ensured that around 260,000 tonnes of goods were locally reused, creating high-quality jobs and saving 110,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. In so doing, they were able to reinvest around 1 billion euros of economic turnover into their socially inclusive reuse, repair, and recycling missions, underscoring the importance of public procurement to tap into such activities to create public value for European communities.(2)