Strengthening Requirement Specification in Sustainable Procurement – an Investigation of Challenges

To reap the benefits of sustainability in the construction sector, it is crucial that the stakeholders involved can implement it in practice. Investigations have shown that choices made in the early phases of the building process are of very great importance for the outcome and the initiatives and decisions taken by the building owner are crucial.

This paper presents research on Danish building practitioners' ability to make requirements for sustainability in procurement. On the basis of an action research strategy, we asked practitioners to help identify the challenges involved in requiring sustainable solutions through procurement. These included among others a lack of knowledge or experience in sustainable procurement and interdisciplinary challenges. The research showed that practitioners are able to formulate specific requirements for sustainability in procurement. However the challenges found imply that a sustainable approach in procurement is not fully implemented in a Danish context. This suggests that there is a need for guidance in the area, if the practitioners are to move from good intentions to making more specific requirements for sustainability in procurement.