Quite a few European cities and communities have already included the concept of responsible public procurement into their regulations. The former German capital Bonn, for instance, demands indications for the sources of lumber purchased by the municipality. Domestic lumber should be acquired wherever possible, and if tropical wood is purchased, it has to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the global action network that sets standards allowing customers around the world to choose products from socially and environmentally responsible forestry.
Fair-trade coffee is another item on Bonn’s sustainability agenda: the city subsidises fair-trade coffee and supports fair-trade campaigns; the city even offers "Bonn Kaffee", its own brand of fair-trade coffee. And even the candy handed out at the traditional Carnival parades is fair-traded.
Bonn followed suit when Munich changed its procurement commitments to prevent the purchase of articles produced by the worst forms of child labour (ILO Convention No. 182). Suppliers are obligated to indicate the country of origin and provide a certificate or proper guarantee to rule out the use of child labour. The Bonn environmental agency has developed environmental friendly criteria for the procurement of office supplies based on environmental certification and additional market research.
