The Market’s Maturity for Public Procurement of Circular Furniture: A Study from Latvia

Abstract

Public procurement plays an important role in the market by making up 14% of the Gross Domestic Product in the European Union, therefore it is seen as an important instrument to promote such products and services that better meet society’s demands, for example, sustainability. Starting from 2015, circularity is an important aspect of sustainability. Furniture is among the product groups with a significant impact on the material footprint, therefore approaches to increase material efficiency and circularity are of high value. With this research, the authors investigate the market’s maturity, i.e. the readiness of suppliers to offer circular furniture and services, as well as the readiness of municipalities to uptake it. 20 companies and 27 municipalities took part in the survey. Results show that the surveyed companies currently are more ready to offer more circular products and services than municipalities require in the procurement tenders. Most surveyed municipalities are maintaining and repairing the furniture by themselves that is a circular approach but without outsourcing. The market consultation before the tendering could help to understand the market abilities better and lead to more circular purchasing contracts. This is an important task considering the importance of public procurement in promoting a circular economy.