12.7 Sustainable public procurement
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The "Buy Smart" project, sponsored by the EU, offers free advice and information materials in the field of green procurement.
The target group is both the public sector and private companies. In addition to answering general questions, tendering aids are offered for the product groups lighting, office equipment, vehicles, household appliances and green electricity.
The "Buy Smart" project (running from 2009 to 2011) was funded by the EU and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

The Waste Management Act (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz = KrWG) entered into force on 1 June 2012 and is now Germany's main waste disposal statue. It transposes the EU Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) into German law and comprehensively modernises the former German waste legislation. The KrWG is intended to tighten resource, climate and environmental protection regulations and improve resource efficiency in waste management by strengthening waste avoidance and recycling. At the same time, the adoption of terms and definitions under EU law and the clarification of central regulations are intended to facilitate the practicable and legally secure application of the law. In addition, bureaucratic burdens have been reduced and various regulations have been made more enforceable.
A new scope of application and definitions harmonised under EU law provide more legal certainty and facilitate the application of the Act. In addition, for the first time there are regulations on the practice-relevant questions of the differentiation between waste and by-product as well as on the end of waste status. Based on EU law, the law also determines whether a waste incineration plant is granted " recovery status". The implementation of the hierarchy in the stages of prevention, recovery, disposal is already specified by the law.

With the introduction of § 45 Obligations of Public Authorities, public procurement also receives greater support for waste prevention. § 45 obliges federal authorities to give preference in procurement to "products which, among other things, (1) have been manufactured using production processes that conserve raw materials, save energy, conserve water, are low in pollutants or low in waste ; (2) have been manufactured by preparing them for re-use or by recycling waste, in particular using recycled materials, or have been manufactured from renewable raw materials ; (3) are characterised by durability, ease of repair, reusability and recyclability [...]"

Under the chairmanship of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), representatives of the federal government, the federal states and local authorities, non-governmental organisations and associations have been working together in the Alliance for Sustainable Procurment since 2010. There are six expert groups on the topics of electromobility, standards, resource efficiency, statistics/ monitoring, local public transport and sustainable construction.

The Competence Centre for Sustainable Procurement (KNB) at the Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) supports public clients in considering sustainability criteria in procurement projects.
The KNB informs, trains and clarifies the contracting authorities of the federal government, the states and local authorities in a targeted manner with regard to sustainable public procurement.

The target of the funding programme is to support international partnerships in the areas of climate, environment and energy.
CLIENT II puts a spotlight on demand-oriented research and development collaborations with select newly industrializing and developing countries with interesting markets for German suppliers of technology. The envisaged projects are to give an effective impetus to reduce environmental pollution in the partner countries, to use natural resources both wisely and economically, to supply safe, clean and affordable energy to all segments of the population, and to make advances in global climate protection and in the adaptation to climate change and natural hazards.