An international expert conference organised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture was held on October 3-4, 2019 in Prague at the Congress Centre of the Czech National Bank. 

The conference focused on the strategic approach and social aspects in public purchasing and hosted a variety of Czech and international speakers. 

'It entails nothing more than to consider the priorities of the contracting authority or a company in general and to adapt the requirements accordingly. Then it is the case of responsible public procurement, based on our common values, such as decent working conditions for all, fair competition or care for the environment. That is why I call on all contracting entities to decide for responsible public procurement and start implementing it,” said Ingrid Štegmannová, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic.

Main conference topics included

• The international context for socially responsible procurement. Current challenges, trends and visions for strategic public procurement
• National strategies and plans for socially responsible public procurement
• Implementing socially responsible public procurement within an organisation
• Responsible approach in the construction sector, giving consideration to fair conditions in supplier chains
• Control mechanisms and practice in reviewing sustainability of public contracts
• Monitoring, reporting and measuring in socially responsible public procurement
• Selected public contracts as examples of good practice

As the conference has shown, there are many examples of responsible public procurement in Europe and the Czech Republic. Some countries, such as Slovakia, even impose a legal obligation to award a certain percentage of contracts in a socially responsible way.

At the conference, contributions to socially responsible public procurement in the Czech Republic were awarded. The laureates were the town of Jičín for the comprehensive and systematic implementation of responsible public procurement, and the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague (VŠCHT Praha) for promoting in particular fair supplier relations and environmentally friendly solutions.

Presentations form the conference are available here, including Best Practice Marketplace.

Full press release is available below in Czech.

>> Did you know that Prague committed to reduce CO₂ emissions in the capital by at least 45% by 2030 (compared to 2010) and achieve zero CO₂ emissions by 2050 at the latest?

>> Read also about zindex winners in 2019 and how and why zindex.cz is calculated? In 2018, the Czech authorities awarded public contracts within the Act on Public Procurement amounting to CZK 471 billion, an increase by almost 50% compared with 2017, hitting a record high.

See also Responsible Public Procurement: European Practice, a publication by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (in English and Czech).