# On the Road to Circular Public Procurement: Case, Variations, and Potential Actions in Germany
## 2 Materials and Methods
### Status of Sustainable Public Procurement in Germany
#### 2.1.2 Legal Framework and Support for Sustainable, Circular Public Procurement European Law  
The Public Procurement Directive of 2014 (Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement) lays down the framework conditions for public procurement in the EU. It is decisive for procuring services in the public, and, especially, the municipal sector. Public procurement law's four general principles are the foundation of these regulations: transparency, equal treatment, non-discrimination, and proportionality [38]. According to [38], the last principle, in particular, has a direct influence on (socially) sustainable procurement. Among other things, it sets limits on what the parties involved in a procurement procedure are expected to consider. This implies that sustainability aspects must not force bidders to demonstrate compliance with all social standards up to the last manufacturing stage if this can only be achieved with a disproportionate effort. The EU directives do not directly affect the member states, but require transposition into national law. For this purpose, the German directives were integrated into the already existing Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschrankungen, GWB) and supplemented by further regulations [38]. The national framework conditions of CPP are discussed in detail in the next section. Overall, the Supply Chain Act may lead to modified framework conditions. National Law  
The implementation of the EU's public procurement directives, mainly Directive 2014/24/EU, into German law took place in 2016. Public procurement regulations with environmental relevance in Germany include (see [37] and related sources):  
* the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB),
* the Regulation on the Award of Contracts for Subthreshold Contracts (UVgO),
* the Public Procurement Ordinance (VgV),
* the Recycling Management Act (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz, KrWG),
* the Klimaschutzgesetz (Climate Protection Act, KSG), added by additional, federal Climate Protection Acts in several Federal States
* Regulations on the Award of Public Contracts for Construction Works, Parts A and B (VOB/A and VOB/B) (not relevant in the context of car types)
* Sector regulations (awarding of contracts in the fields of transport, drinking water supply, and energy supply by sector contracting authorities). These regulations give procuring entities extensive opportunities to procure sustainably and apply CE aspects consistently. GWB (SS 97 para. 3) and UVgO (SS 2 para. 3) contain mandatory provisions according to which aspects of environmental protection must be taken into account when awarding contracts. For example, in the VgV, SS 31 of the performance specification and SS 34 of the verification by means of quality marks are relevant. Based on SS 34, public contracting authorities can demand the submission of quality marks that prove the characteristics required in the performance specification. The conditions suggest that EU quality labels and also national quality labels fulfil these conditions. Details on the sustainability aspects in the regulations mentioned above are discussed in [42]. Section 13 of the Climate Protection Act explicitly contains a regulation on public procurement. In conformity with this document, the requirement to take climate protection into account and the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2045 apply to federal procurement agencies and to authorities of the German Federal States and municipalities that enforce federal law. Accordingly, the climate protection goals of the German government must be complied with in all phases of procurement, including the initial needs analysis. As defined in Section 13 (2) of the KSG, preference must be given to products that achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gases over their entire useful life at the lowest cost. Therefore, life cycle costs and the economic costs for climate protection must be taken into account.