# Critical Factors for Green Public Procurement: The Case of Greece
## 4 Results  
### Identification of Critical Factors  
Through the review of 25 papers using the process described in Figure 2, 14 CFs for the implementation of GPP were identified and are presented in Table 3. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Factor** & **Description** & **References** \\ \hline K1 & Legislation & [38; 39] \\ K2 & Government incentives on green policy & [39; 40] \\ K3 & Degree of centralization of procurement & [41; 42] \\ K4 & Organizational culture & [41; 43] \\ K5 & Senior management’s support, commitment, and involvement & [6; 13; 39; 44; 45] \\ K6 & Clear strategies and goals & [32; 42; 44; 46] \\ K7 & Organizational size & [9; 13; 46; 47; 48] \\ K8 & Employee empowerment and Motivation & [6; 9; 10; 43] \\ K9 & Knowledge of the environmental impact of products & [39; 49; 50] \\ K10 & Knowledge and training on GPP & [6; 9; 9; 41; 43; 46; 47; 51] \\ K11 & Specialized professionals & [38; 52] \\ K12 & Cost structure & [39; 45; 46; 53] \\ K13 & Energy consumption & [38] \\ K14 & Certification requirements & [6; 43; 47; 49; 50] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: CFs for implementing GPP. Legislation  
Government incentives on green policy  
A government should provide incentives for the procurement of green goods or ensuring green contracts, which could be in the form of tax benefits or price subsidies for public services or organizations that purchase green goods, thus establishing green/environmental governance [39]. State funding provides the financial resources necessary to support and scale sustainable procurement initiatives, enabling public organizations to invest in environmentally friendly technologies, products, and services that might otherwise be cost-prohibitive. This financial support helps to bridge the gap between the higher upfront costs of green alternatives and their long-term economic and environmental benefits. Additionally, state funding can facilitate training programs, capacity building, and the development of robust monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure the effective implementation of GPP practices. However, there are also studies that show that although the government's financial availability makes green purchases more attractive, the effect remains marginal [40]. Degree of centralization of procurement  
Centralized procurement in GPP streamlines purchasing processes, enhances bargaining power, and ensures the uniform implementation of sustainable practices across an organization or governmental body. Consolidated procurement allows for the consistent application of environmental criteria, making it easier to enforce green standards and select eco-friendly products and suppliers [41]. It also enables economies of scale, reducing costs associated with sustainable goods and services that might be more expensive if procured individually. Moreover, centralized procurement facilitates data collection and monitoring, helping organizations to track their environmental impact and continuously improve their GPP strategies. However, while centralization could bring cost savings, process efficiency, and demand rationalization, decentralization may enable innovation and improve service quality [42]. Organizational culture shapes the values, attitudes, and behaviors that drive sustainable procurement practices. It may be referred to as a set of basic assumptions created, developed, or discovered by a group during the learning process in order to deal with problems of either external fit or internal integration. A culture that prioritizes environmental responsibility encourages employees to integrate green principles into their daily operations and decision-making processes [43]. Organizational culture's importance is proven by the fact that organizations with rigid, top-heavy, and bureaucratic structures face more difficulties while implementing changes than companies with a lean and flexible organizational structure.