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10 steps to integrate the circular economy into your purchasing - Operational guidelines




In 2018, the National Institute for Circular Economy (INEC) launched an Operational Programme on Purchasing and Circular Economy (in French: Programme-action "Achats et économie circulaire"), together with the Métropole du Grand Paris and the Observatoire des Achats Responsables.

34 voluntary organisations have joined the programme and held meetings and discussions focusing on the following themes:

  • the functional economy,
  • reuse and repair
  • eco-design
  • inclusion of recycled materials, and
  • end-of-life products.

These guidelines are the result of this process and aim to guide private and public buyers through the process of integrating the circular economy into their purchasing policies.

At this time, the priority is to support economic and green recovery. Consequently, we must focus on a more sustainable and circular economy. With its economic weight, we need to leverage public and private purchasing to help deliver the twin transition.

In France, there has been progress in terms of public procurement regulations, largely thanks to the anti-waste law for a circular economy. The Programme on Purchasing and Circular Economy makes it possible to go further and support innovative experiments, such as:

  • purchase of goods that are reused, reconditioned, or that include recycled materials, or even
  • purchase of the use of goods rather than the goods themselves, what is known as the functional economy.