Written question asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Thursday, 1 December 2005.

European Union: Eco-labelling Scheme

Question: Whether they will take steps to require all government departments to buy eco-labelled products whenever possible.

Answer: Under EU public procurement rules, the Government and other public bodies cannot require products to have been awarded specific environmental labels, although they may specify environmental standards equivalent to those used for such labels.The Government have already used some of the requirements from the European eco-label scheme in its ““Quick Wins”” initiative to apply minimum environmental standards across a wide range of products commonly purchased by government departments. We are currently consulting on extending the list of products covered.The Sustainable Procurement Task Force is due to produce an action plan for government procurement in April next year. Its report will make recommendations on what steps the UK public sector can take to ensure that it is among the leading EU member states on sustainable procurement by 2009.Further information about, the work of the task force can be found at www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/delivery/global-local/ProcurementTaskForce.htm.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 2538; 676 c60-1WA
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Government departments Ecolabelling Procurement Sustainable development