Name Procurement of 100% organic, seasonal food
ActivityGPP
Key Alignment(s) with the Green Economy Principles
This best practice is aligned with the following Green Economy Principles:
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It delivers sustainable development
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It improves the natural world
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It is accountable
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It delivers sustainable consumption and production
Key Alignment(s) with the EU regulations
The main EU Directive regarding PP is Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts.Additionally, the Recommendation of the Council on Improving the
Environmental Performance of Public Procurement was taken into account.
Apart from the above mentioned Directive, and the following recommendation, the following regulations/directives are of importance:
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Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 (organic production of agricultural products)
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EU Regulation 1804/1999 (rules for production, labelling and inspection for organic livestock products)
 Council Directive 98/58/EC (protection of animals kept for farming purposes)
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Directive 2008/50/EC (Air Quality)
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Regulation No. 443/2009 (reducing emissions of CO2 from passenger cars)
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Regulation No. 510/2011 (CO2 reduction framework for the new Vans)
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Directive 94/62/EC (packaging)
Short description
The Municipality of Copenhagen aims to serve 90% organic food in its public kitchens by 2015. In order to achieve this goal, the Municipality has been working together with the Copenhagen House of Food, an independent, non-commercial foundation which was established by the City of Copenhagen in 2007. The goal of the House of Food is to improve the quality of meals offered by the City of Copenhagen to its citizens and to create a healthy, happy and sustainable public food culture.
In 2013 the Municipality of Copenhagen published a public tender to provide 100% organic, seasonal fruit and vegetables, to supply 80 large kitchens (with an average budget of 70,000 Euro per year) in the City of
Copenhagen, serving approximately 20,000 meals per day. These kitchens provide the food for the cities nursing homes, elderly homes, schools, day-care centres and homes for people with intellectual disabilities.
Initiating organization
Municipality of Copenhagen
Geographical scope
Copenhagen, Denmark

Experiences of Best Practice/Success factor
Although the price of organic food tends to be more expensive than non-organic food, the Municipality ensured that this tender did not cost more than a tender for non-organic food, by making certain changes in their kitchens. For example, less meat and more vegetables are now used. In this way the Municipality has managed to ensure that the catering services do not cost more than they did previously.
The Municipality of Copenhagen has recognised as a result of this tender that for such a detailed tender, it would be easier to keep the tender process and documentation as simple as possible. Despite this, in future the Municipality will include more specific details on how they will monitor the tender.