The GREENER final conference was held on 24 November 2022 in Brussels to present the main outcomes of the project, such as the Skills Framework, the Training Modules and the GREENER Toolbox, and identify opportunities for the exploitation of project results.

Some of the barriers for SMEs to participate in green and circular public procurement (GPP/CPP) identified in the four countries of the project (Bulgaria, Italy, Spain and Belgium) are the lack of knowledge on sustainability and procurement procedures, the lack of resources or the misinterpretation that procurement is too bureaucratic for them. 

To overcome those barriers, partners agreed on the key role that training providers can play in supporting companies, particularly SMEs, to participate in GPP/CPP, by providing them with the necessary skills. The discussion touched upon the actions that Public Authorities can take to engage SMEs in GPP, for instance by improving the communication with suppliers (e.g. Green Deals). Moreover, there was a true interest from public authorities to integrate the green and circular sphere (such as the GREENER training modules) in their trainings on procurement. 

Lastly, partners shared views on the need to increase the skills of SMEs and public authorities on CPP/GPP in order to upscale the potential of GPP, a key lever in the transition towards circular economy.

Three European funded projects were invited to present their project and identify potential synergies with GREENER: The Horizon 2020 Sapiens Network, Interreg North Sea Region ProCirc and the BRINC project (COSME).

The presentations of the final conference are available here.