Case Study 43

Political support – Göteborg City Council decisions
Joint procurement - Purchasing and Procurement Policy for the City of Göteborg with Explanatory Notes  http://www.uhb.nu/english.asp?nid=5

Coordinated procurement is of strategic importance to the City as a whole in attaining the best possible business terms and conditions and in actively influencing quality and environmental impact. Coordination also minimises the administrative costs of the City’s procurement and purchasing. Reference groups enable us to use the City’s collected expertise to reach the best possible mutual general agreements. The procurement of general agreements shall always take place with the active participation of the administrative units/companies with the most relevant expertise on the products/services under procurement. Mutual general agreements encompass the City’s entire volume and ensure the fulfilment of environmental and quality requirements. The terms and conditions of general agreements are normally far more advantageous than those that can be obtained by an individual unit in a separate procurement process.
Individual committees and companies shall not conduct procurement procedures of their own when a general agreement is already in place. If an individual committee or company is not to participate in a municipality-wide procurement process approval must be obtained from the Municipal Executive Board.

Decisions about environmental demands on purchasing

In 1990 Göteborg City Council made a unanimous decision to oblige the city´s administrative units and companies to include an environmental assessment every time a decision to purchase was to be made. A model for joint procurement with environmental demands, The Göteborg Model, based on political decisions, established working methods and information strategy has since been put into practice.

Joint procurement of fuel
Partners

The procurement is a joint procurement between The City of Göteborg (ca 80 administrative units and companies), The Göteborg Region Association of Local Authorities, The Municipality of Kungsbacka, The Municipality of Lerum, The Municipality of Mölndal, The Municipality of Partille, The Municipality of Öckerö and The Church of Sweden in Göteborg

Products

The procurement includes: petrol and diesel, alkylate petrol MK1, gas, low ethanol-blended petrol E5, ethanol E85, RME100% (gas is procured separately)

Main focus, for sustainable fuels, is on ethanol E85 with reference to the specific targets for clean vehicles in Göteborg, the environmental zone for heavy vehicles, the project eco vehicles and the decision about special environmental demands for transport services and working machines.

Ethanol E85

Alcohol is produced as a vehicle fuel in Sweden from grains and cellulose byproducts. Ethanol can also be made from any number of organic materials and burned in engines adapted for the fuel. In Sweden, 15 percent gasoline is added to the fuel to make cold starts possible. With an 85 percent ethanol level, the fuel is known as E85. Ethanol produces less unhealthful emissions, and it also contributes far less carbon dioxide. Ethanol cars can be operated on either gasoline or E85

Specific targets for Clean Vehicles in Göteborg

• 90 per cent of municipal light vehicles should be clean vehicles by 2008
• 90 per cent of municipal taxi-, delivery- and special transport services by clean vehicles 2008
• when purchasing municipal heavy vehicles choose a clean vehicle
• when purchasing bustransports and special transport services chose a clean vehicle
• 5 per cent of all new sales should be clean vehicles by 2008
• 5 per cent of all fuel deliveries in Göteborg should be biofuel by 2008

What is a clean vehicle

http://www.miljofordon.se/english/
There is yet no national definition of a clean vehicle in Sweden. The three cities Göteborg, Stockholm and Malmö therefore have their own definitions

In Göteborg the following are considered as Clean (eco) Vehicles:

Light vehicles:

• vehicles which can run on alternative fuels such as electricity, gas, ethanol and oilseed rape for more than 50 per cent of the time
• hybrid vehicles
• electric vehicles
• vehicles that can be driven on natural gas or biogas (methane, CNG and CBG)
• vehicles that can be driven on ethanol
• cars that consume a maximum of 3.4 litres of diesel or 3,8 litres of petrol per 100 km

The vehicles must also meet certain emission and crash test standards and diesel vehicle must also have environmental classification 1.

Heavy vehicles:

• vehicles which can run on alternative fuels such as gas, ethanol and oilseed rape for more than 50 per cent of the time
• hybrid vehicles
• fuel cell vehicles

Heavy vehicles must also comply with EU EEV levels