LightingEurope Warns of a Lack of Ambition in the Harmonisation of Procurement Rules
LightingEurope welcomes the European Commission's proposal to shift from a set of Directives to a Regulation. "It is an important step toward harmonising procurement rules across the Single Market. However, we should review the significant discretion left to Member States and local authorities, which risks reintroducing the very fragmentation that the change in legal instrument is meant to eliminate," said Elena Scaroni, Secretary General of LightingEurope.
"We are also concerned about provisions allowing public buyers to request specific labels. This, too, could further fragment the Single Market," she added. On non-price criteria, LightingEurope welcomes the recognition of quality, social, innovation and environmental factors. We would like to stress the importance of recognising quality criteria for lighting, such as its contribution to Indoor Environmental Quality, within the technical specifications for the public procurement of lighting products.
On Green Public Procurement, LightingEurope supports the recognition of life-cycle costing and the inclusion of Green Public Procurement as a central element of the strategic considerations for public buyers. "We believe, however, that demand for sustainable lighting products will be most effectively driven by establishing mandatory sustainability criteria for public buyers. They will provide greater investment and planning security for sectors in which public procurement is a major economic driver, such as ours," Scaroni said.
LightingEurope welcomes the reference to the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act in the energy-efficiency provision. However, we ask to add references to activities related to the manufacture of energy-efficiency equipment for buildings and other low-carbon technologies as additional means of demonstrating “high energy efficiency” to ensure that the full spectrum of lighting products is covered.
"Public authorities across Europe are among the largest buyers of lighting for streets, transport infrastructure, schools, hospitals and public buildings. As such, they have significant power to shape market demand and accelerate the roll-out of sustainable, high-performing lighting solutions that support the EU's goals on energy efficiency, decarbonisation, digitalisation and circularity," Scaroni concluded.
LightingEurope will look forward to engaging with policymakers on the details in the coming months.
About LightingEurope
LightingEurope is the voice of the lighting industry, based in Brussels and representing 32 companies and national associations. Together these members account for over 1,000 European companies, a majority of which are small or medium-sized. They represent a total European workforce of over 80,000 people and an annual turnover exceeding 15 billion euro. LightingEurope is committed to promoting efficient lighting that benefits human comfort, safety and well-being, and the environment. LightingEurope advocates a positive business and regulatory environment to foster fair competition and growth for the European lighting industry. More information is available at www.lightingeurope.org.
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