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Nachhaltige Beschaffung
Year Value Units Series
2015 100.0 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2016 136.802 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2017 147.738 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2018 197.464 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2019 204.067 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2020 212.886 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2021 208.58 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2022 192.684 2015 = 100 Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
2015 100.0 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
2016 99.954 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
2017 99.679 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
2018 99.854 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
2019 100.427 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
2020 101.93 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
2021 102.998 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
2022 101.606 2015 = 100 CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector

Data source: Competence Center for Sustainable Procurement

Geographical Area: Germany

This table includes additional information to the above visualized indicators, i.e. a short definition of this indicator and a description of the politically determined target values as well as explaining the political intention behind selecting this indicator.

Definition

These indicators show sustainability in procurement through the examples of paper and the CO₂ emissions of motor vehicles. Each is depicted as an index using 2015 as its base year.
Indicator 12.3.a ”Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration” measures what proportion of total paper procured for the direct federal administration is certified with the Blue Angel ecolabel. Since reporting year 2018, only non-coloured A4-sized printer and copier paper is recorded.
Indicator 12.3.b “CO₂ emissions of publicity owned vehicles by distance travelled” shows the CO₂ emissions of publicly owned vehicles in relation to the distances they travel.
Target and intention

Sustainable procurement is a very complex topic. Product-specific indicators are examined here as examples. While the proportion of paper bearing the Blue Angel ecolabel is supposed to reach 95 % of the direct federal administration’s total paper use by 2020, the ratio of CO₂ emissions to distance travelled is supposed to continue sinking. The public sector accounts for a considerable share of demand for products and services. It is therefore aimed that establishing sustainable development as a guiding principle of public procurement and reinforcing sustainability criteria within public procurement will serve as a lever to increase provision of sustainable products. The Federal Government’s aim is to strengthen sustainability across public procurement generally.
Data status

The data published in the indicator report 2022 is as of 31 October 2022. The data shown on this platform is updated regularly, so that more current data may be available online than published in the indicator report 2022.

Text from the Indicator Report 2022 

Paper with Blue Angel certification as a proportion of the direct federal administration’s total paper consumption

The data used to calculate the proportion of Blue Angel-certified paper in the direct federal administration’s total paper consumption are collated through the monitoring of the Programme of Sustainability Measures being conducted by the Federal Chancellery and supported by the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Procurement at the Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Blue Angel is an ecolabel for environmentally friendly products and services. When awarded to paper, it means that 100 % of the paper fibres were recovered from wastepaper and that no harmful chemicals or bleaching agents were used in the production process.

According to the preliminary data, the proportion of Blue Angel-certified paper rose by around 113 % between 2015 and 2020. In 2015, 45 % of all the paper used by the direct federal administration bore the Blue Angel label; that figure had risen to 96 % by 2020. This equates to an increase of 112.9 % (or an index value of 212.9). The indicator is thus in line with the target set in the Programme of Sustainability Measures to raise the use of paper with the Blue Angel label to 95 % by 2020. Total paper consumption decreased in 2020 by 14.1 % compared to previous year (from about 993 to 852 million sheet of paper), resulting in a 33.4 % reduction in total paper consumption between 2015 and 2020.

When comparing the data over time, it should be noted that there was a change in methodology in 2018 regarding the definition of paper. Since the 2018 reporting year, only non-coloured A4-sized printer and copier paper has been included in the data. The reduction in total paper use can in part be traced to this methodological change.

More generally, it should be noted that the use of Blue Angel-certified paper has limited relevance in terms of sustainable procurement overall, as paper accounts for a small proportion of the total financial volumes involved in procurement for the public sector.

CO₂ emissions of motor vehicles of the public sector mileage

The data on publicly owned vehicles are provided by the environmental economic accounts compiled by the Federal Statistical Office using the TREMOD (Transport Emissions Estimation Model) database at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. The public sector comprises the Federal Government, the Länder and municipalities, the police, the Federal Border Police and the fire services.

Due to methodological changes in 2016, the comparability of the data is limited.

If, instead of looking at publicly owned vehicles, one focuses on vehicles owned by the direct federal administration, average CO₂ emissions amounted to 223.6 grams per kilometre travelled in 2020.

The direct federal administration encompasses Federal Government’s own central and subordinate authorities, which are legally dependent. The data on CO₂ emissions per kilometre travelled for vehicles owned by the direct federal administration are provided by German Environment Agency. As for the data on publicly owned vehicles, the direct federal administration figures count all passenger vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes but not light commercial vehicles within that class.

Between 2015 and 2017, the proportion of vehicles newly acquired for the direct federal administration that produced emissions lower than 50 grams CO₂ per kilometre rose from 2.6 % to 4.1 % of all newly purchased vehicles. That share fell back to 3.3 % in 2018. The provisional data show it falling further in 2019, to 2.4 %, however, the value increased to 8.5 % in 2020.

The indicator under consideration here relates only to the environmental aspect of sustainability. Moreover, it only covers the CO₂ emissions released during the vehicles’ operation. Looking at their entire life-cycle costs, there are more greenhouse-gas emissions, occurring during the processes of manufacturing and waste disposal, which would have to be taken into account for a conclusive indicator. In addition, the sustainability of electric vehicles depends on whether the electricity powering them comes from conventional or renewable sources.

The synoptic table provides information about the evaluation of the indicator in previous years. It shows if the weather symbol assigned to an indicator was rather stable or volatile in the past years. (Evaluation of the Indicator Report 2022 )

Indicator

12.3.a Paper bearing the Blue Angel label as a proportion of the total paper consumption of the direct federal administration
Target

Increase the proportion to 95 % by 2020
Year

2017

2018

2019

2020
Evaluation

No assess­ment possible

<p>Sonne</p>
Indicator

12.3.b CO₂ emissions of commercially available vehicles in the public sector
Target

Significantly reduce
Year

2017

2018

2019

2020
Evaluation

No assess­ment possible

<p>Blitz</p>