Sustainable Public Procurement Advisory Service

Barcelona City Council promotes sustainable public procurement that incorporates objectives of efficiency, diversification and social and environmental justice. Within this framework, the Sustainable Public Procurement Advisory Service of Barcelona Activa offers:

  • Training and advice on how to access public tenders. Aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed people and social and cooperative economy organisations.

  • Internal advice to Barcelona City Council units to facilitate contracting through the social reserve and the incorporation of socially sustainable contracting measures in tender specifications.

  • Specific guidance to companies awarded contracts to ensure compliance with clauses:

    •  3.1, relating to subcontracting to the social economy: referral of potential suppliers to subcontract.

    •  3.5, regarding the hiring of unemployed people with special difficulties for social integration: referral of candidates.

    • Social clause for the promotion of diverse employment contracts: referral of candidates.

Training and counselling on how to access public tenders

The following training activities form a public procurement pathway and can be carried out independently, although we recommend the whole pathway. They all take place online on certain dates and require prior registration:

In addition to these trainings, we have a MOOC or asynchronous course on how to apply for tenders. You can also consult the Guide ‘Start bidding’, aimed at companies and organisations in the Social and Solidarity Economy.

If you are a second level organisation and you are interested in receiving training on these topics in a reduced format and you would like to consider the possibility of attending the course in person, please contact us at contractaciosostenible@barcelonactiva.cat.​​​​​

Internal advice to City Council units

If you are a municipal unit in Barcelona (area, institute, municipal company, etc.) and you want to include social measures in one or more tenders, we can help you. Write to contractaciosostenible@barcelonactiva.cat for advice.

Guidance for companies awarded tenders

If you are a company, entity or person awarded a contract with clauses 3.1 or 3.5, we can help you:

  • Clause 3.1, relating to subcontracting to social economy companies or entities: if you need to know about subcontracting options, write to contractaciosostenible@barcelonactiva.cat and we will inform you. You can also consult the directory of the social and solidarity economy: directorieconomiasocial.barcelonactiva.cat
  • Clause 3.5, regarding the hiring of people with special difficulties for social insertion or at risk of exclusion and the Social Clause for the promotion of diverse hiring. If you need guidance on who and how to hire, write to clausules.socials@barcelonactiva.cat. We can help you to plan the selection process and send you candidates with the corresponding profiles that fit the clause.

Barcelona and sustainable public procurement

Public procurement is a powerful economic policy tool that generates thousands of jobs and mobilises millions of euros (Barcelona earmarked more than €1,560,000,000 in 2022).

Barcelona City Council, with the Decree of 24 April 2017, affirms its commitment to socially responsible public procurement and consolidates and deploys mechanisms such as social clauses or the social reserve, among others, with which it reinforces social policies, creates job opportunities for people with special difficulties and strengthens the social economy in the city.

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