Procurement category: administrative supplies, main CPV code: 30192000-1 – Office supplies

Environmental and social impacts targeted: behavioural change, reduced packaging, waste reduction, a circular economy, and end-of-life solutions. 

Relevant EU legislation/policy/guidance: Circular Economy Action Plan (2020); EU Ecolabel

Background 

The Communauté de communes Sèvre & Loire is an inter-municipal authority located south-east of Nantes, in western France. It brings together 11 municipalities with around 50,000 inhabitants, providing joint public services and shared procurement functions. Since its creation in 2017 through the merger of two former communities, Sèvre & Loire sought to professionalise its purchasing practices to support local authorities in adopting sustainable, circular procurement solutions compliant with the French Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law. 

Sèvre & Loire’s sustainability procurement strategy is anchored in its Plan Climat-Air-Énergie Territorial (PCAET) and Territoire en transition agreement with ADEME, the national Agency for the Ecological Transition. It also aims to promote the purchase of products compliant with the French Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law and encourage more circular, low-impact consumption patterns across the administration. Adopted in 2020, the French Law on the Circular Economy introduced a large range of measures to reduce waste from the design and production stages of products, such as the introduction of new EPR schemes, a ban on planned obsolescence, and providing access to spare parts.

Striving to make routine procurements greener 

In 2024, the community launched a joint procurement procedure to award a single-supplier framework agreement for the supply of administrative materials, covering office stationery, small office equipment and paper. As the previous framework agreement reached the end of its term, the new call offered an opportunity to modernise ordering methods, improve efficiency, and embed environmental considerations into routine office supply purchases across its eleven member municipalities. The new agreement also aimed to provide a single, easy-to-use online platform and catalogue that highlights sustainable options, reduces packaging waste, limits transport impacts, and promotes durable, recycled and eco-labelled products. Beyond regulatory compliance, the approach aimed to encourage behavioural change among public agents by making sustainable choices more visible, convenient and cost-effective within day-to-day operations.

Conducting internal and external consultations

To prepare the tender, the contracting authority first carried out market engagement and needs assessments. A dedicated working group of municipal staff responsible for placing supply orders was formed to define the requirements and share practical experience. The authority also conducted meetings with potential suppliers, using a standardised questionnaire sent in advance, to understand market capacity and to shape realistic environmental and functional criteria. This preparatory work was complemented by a newly developed “eco-responsible needs definition sheet”, tested for the first time through this contract. The approach ensured that the final specifications were ambitious yet achievable, encouraging suppliers to propose sustainable, recyclable and circular products without increasing costs compared to conventional alternatives.

The procurement process

This procurement followed an open procedure according to the French Public Procurement Code. The tender notice was published on the Sèvre & Loire e-procurement platform and on the European TED platform, with a submission deadline of 24 September 2024. The maximum value was set at EUR 532.400,00. The resulting framework agreement with purchase orders was designed for an initial 12-month period starting 1 January 2025, with three possible annual renewals until 31 December 2028.

The procurement process was coordinated by the public procurement service of the Communauté de communes, in collaboration with its Sustainable Transition Department. Following the notice publication, the evaluation of bids included both price and environmental quality criteria. The selected suppliers were notified by the end of 2024 to ensure that the new framework could commence in early 2025.

Exclusion and selection criteria

The exclusion and selection requirements followed standard provisions of the French Public Procurement Code. The bidders had to prove regularity in the payment of tax and social obligations, demonstrate economic and financial capacity, and provide evidence of technical and professional ability, by including references to previous deliveries and, for Lot 1, samples or photographs of products. The contracting authority stressed the importance of a collaborative and service-oriented relationship with suppliers, encouraging responsiveness and reliability throughout the contract execution.

Requirements for sustainable office supplies

Sèvre & Loire applied a coherent environmental approach across the entire framework agreement to ensure that all purchases contributed to broader circular economy and climate objectives and its Territoire Engagé Transition Écologique commitments.

• Integration of eco-responsible products: All lots required suppliers, as part of the technical specifications, to include and clearly identify products with recognised environmental certifications (such as EU Ecolabel, Blauer Engel, NF Environnement, FSC or PEFC or equivalent) and to indicate compliance with the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law directly in the unit price lists. Products containing recycled materials, designed for reusability, or made from recyclable resources were explicitly encouraged under the award criteria. The tender documentation emphasised the importance of offering sustainable and repairable products, reducing the need for frequent replacements. Bidders were required to indicate the percentage of recycled content, or reuse features or if the product is part of an EPR scheme, and provide the relevant documentation to substantiate their claims. These declarations were verified during evaluation and rewarded under the environmental award criterion.

• Packaging and delivery requirements: Suppliers were required to avoid over-packaging, favour bulk deliveries, and use recycled, recyclable or reusable packaging materials where possible. These practices were verified through the supplier’s technical offer descriptions of packaging composition and recovery systems, and monitored during contract execution through on-site observation of delivery methods. They also had to collect and recover packaging during subsequent deliveries, establishing a take-back and reuse loop. Deliveries had to be made within 7 to 10 working days. Transport and logistics had to be organised efficiently to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, for instance, by grouping deliveries to nearby communes and avoiding unnecessary trips. 

• Eco-responsible ordering platform: An online ordering platform served the entire joint purchasing group. The platform had to highlight eco-labelled and Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law-compliant products, provide detailed sustainability information for each item, and generate usage and monitoring data to support reporting on green purchasing. It also had to be accessible to all participating municipalities and allow the contracting authority to oversee the overall environmental performance of the framework.

• Monitoring, review and continuous improvement: The framework established periodic review clauses for all lots (annually for Lots 1 and 2; biannually for Lot 3) to update catalogues, adjust product ranges, and incorporate new eco-designed references. These reviews ensured that the framework remained aligned with technological progress, market developments and evolving environmental standards. The suppliers and the contracting authority committed to annual meetings to discuss performance, assess environmental results and identify opportunities for further improvement.

Specific requirements for each lot

The tender outlined detailed technical and environmental requirements across its three lots to meet sustainability standards. 

• Lot 1 – Office supplies: Covered everyday administrative items such as pens, notebooks, folders, binders, envelopes and other consumables. A digital catalogue highlighting sustainable products and offering collection and recycling solutions for used items was required. This was the largest lot in terms of volume and financial value. The suppliers had to fill in a mandatory column entitled “Durable reference/justification of sustainability” in the unit price slips to specify which products were eco-labelled, recycled or reusable, and to demonstrate their compliance with the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law. The bidders were encouraged, and assessed under the award criterion, to propose systems for collecting and recycling used office supplies (e.g. writing instruments, toner cartridges). The supplier’s online catalogue and ordering platform had to highlight eco-responsible products at a comparable price, nudging and making sustainable choices easily visible for procurement agents in the municipalities.
• Lot 2 – Small office equipment: Encompassed non-consumable office accessories such as desk organisers, staplers, hole punchers, and similar items that remain in use over time. It included requirements focused on durability, reparability and material quality to reduce replacement needs. Products had to be robust and fit for repeated use, repairable, discouraging disposable or short-life equipment. The tender encouraged the use of recycled or recyclable materials, particularly metals or durable plastics that can be easily disassembled. Tenderers could highlight recognised eco-design or environmental labels relevant to their products. Where such labels did not exist, equivalent proof of environmental performance — such as product composition, recycled content, or manufacturer declarations — could be provided and was accepted for evaluation.
• Lot 3 – Paper: For the supply of reprographic and printing paper in various formats and weights. All paper references had to comply with the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law and carry recognised environmental certifications (e.g. EU Ecolabel, FSC, or PEFC or equivalent), and be proven by manufacturer documentation. The paper had to be chlorine-free and manufactured using resource-efficient processes with lower water and energy consumption. A biannual review mechanism allowed product and price updates, ensuring continuous improvement and integration of innovative low-impact papers.

Award criteria

The contract was awarded according to the best quality-price ratio criterion, with the environmental performance also taken into consideration. The table below outlines the weighting of the different lots. 

Table 1: Overview of the award criteria

This assessment considered the proportion of sustainable, eco-labelled products, packaging and logistics practices, and the supplier’s ability to comply with Anti-Waste and Circular Economy reporting and data monitoring. The technical evaluation further assessed the usability of the catalogue, the accessibility and functionality of the online platform, and logistical reliability.

The environmental criterion represented 15 to 20 points, depending on the lot, assessing:

• The proportion of eco-labelled and recycled products offered;
• Reduced packaging and delivery practices;
• Supplier initiatives to reduce environmental impact; and
• The presence of circular economy or recovery solutions, such as refill, reusable and take-back options.

Awarded suppliers and partnership approach

The framework agreement was concluded as a single-supplier contract, with one supplier selected for each of the three lots. Each lot received three bids. 

The award approach incentivised suppliers to exceed baseline compliance and actively contribute to sustainable consumption patterns. The selected suppliers proposed clear, accessible catalogues highlighting eco-responsible products, optimised delivery circuits, and take-back solutions for used supplies. These offers aligned closely with the community’s sustainability objectives, ensuring both functional efficiency and measurable environmental gains across the four-year framework period.

The chosen partners were local service-oriented companies which offered a strong client-relationship ethos and a proactive approach to sustainability. Lot 1 was attributed to Verrier, an SME specialised in the supply of stationery, furniture and office equipment to businesses and schools and provides IT solutions. The other two lots were attributed to Lacoste Dactyl Bureau & École, a company also specialised in office and school supplies. The company distinguished itself by providing catalogues highlighting environmentally responsible products, including 100 % Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law-compliant paper with recognised environmental labels, and by proposing solutions for the recovery and recycling of used supplies. Both companies comply with Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility standards.  

The contract also establishes a partnership-based working method, with annual review meetings between the suppliers and the Communauté de communes Sèvre & Loire to assess performance, update catalogues, and identify further improvements in environmental outcomes. This collaborative approach ensures that sustainability commitments remain operational and measurable throughout the four-year duration of the framework, supporting the authority’s broader objectives on circular economy and sustainable public purchasing.

Environmental results and impacts

The new framework agreement has delivered tangible environmental improvements across everyday administrative purchasing within the Communauté de communes Sèvre & Loire and its eleven member municipalities. 

A streamlined procedure to make sustainable purchasing the default: The introduction of a unified, digital ordering platform and standardised catalogues has made sustainable products both visible and easy to select, ensuring that procurement agents across the communes can make informed and responsible purchasing choices at a comparable price. The system also enables monitoring of circular economy compliance indicators, helping the authority to report on progress against national circular economy objectives. The use of a visual catalogue with clear product information and sustainability indicators made sustainable options the default choice for procurement agents. 

Sustainable everyday products: One of the most significant achievements has been the systematic integration of Anti-Waste and Circular Economy-compliant products. All paper supplied under the framework is now 100 % certified with recognised environmental labels and sourced entirely from European production, reducing the environmental footprint of supply chains. For office supplies, the inclusion of “durable” references within the unit price slips and catalogue has increased the proportion of recycled and eco-labelled items ordered, exceeding the 40 % recycled-material threshold set under the French Anti-Waste and Circular Economy law.

Reduced packaging: The tender’s packaging and logistics requirements led to a reduction in single-use plastics and packaging waste. Suppliers now collect and reuse delivery cartons, prioritise bulk and recyclable containers, and optimise delivery routes across the communes, reducing unnecessary trips. The contract also encourages continuous improvement, with annual review meetings between the supplier and the contracting authority to assess catalogue performance, identify further eco-responsible substitutions, and evaluate the overall reduction in environmental impacts.

Lessons learned

The experience of Sèvre & Loire shows that even common purchasing categories can become effective drivers of sustainable procurement when approached strategically. Several lessons emerged from the process:

• Early coordination and cross-departmental collaboration were essential. The procurement and environmental teams worked jointly from the outset, ensuring that sustainability principles were integrated into both the technical and functional design of the procurement. This collaboration fostered ownership across internal stakeholders and improved the quality of the specifications.

• Market engagement proved decisive. The working group that involved municipal agents and the meetings with suppliers helped align expectations and verify what the market could deliver. This avoided unrealistic requirements and increased supplier readiness to provide eco-responsible products.

• Behavioural insights matter. The ordering platform and visual catalogues were not only technical tools but also instruments for changing habits. By clearly highlighting sustainable products and simplifying their selection, the authority encouraged agents to make environmentally preferable choices as part of their normal routines.  While it is too early to measure the impact of the platform on purchasing choices, it will help make it easier to track the proportion of Anti-waste and Circular Economy Law-compliant products purchased by the contracting authority.

• Continuous improvement mechanisms sustain impact. The annual review meetings, supplier feedback and catalogue updates turned the framework into a living process rather than a static contract. This structure allows environmental gains to be consolidated and expanded over time.

This procurement procedure offers a replicable model for local authorities seeking to embed environmental and circular economy principles in everyday purchasing. Its success lies in combining ambition with practicality—showing that sustainable procurement is most effective when it becomes a normal, easy and shared practice.

More information

For related information, please see the European GPP criteria for Copying and graphic paper (2008), the JRC assessment on the need for a criteria update (2022), and the Technical background report. 

Tender documents are available online on TED and the tender results are available online.