Criterios sociales y medioambientales en la contratación pública. Una prospectiva desde la entrada en vigor de la ley 9/2017

Abstract

Public procurement has to be seen as an investment tool and not just as an expense. Its strategic value enables to develop social and environmental policies. This vision of procurement has been reinforced since the entry into force of Law 9/2017 of 8 November on Public Sector Contracts. This law stipulates the inclusion of social and environmental issues related to the object of the contract. To find out how different administrations are including these criteria, 175 contracts (local, regional and national) has been analyzed. The criteria to be included, their relationship with the object of the contract and whether they are solvency, award and/or execution criteria are checked. The results show the importance of considering the real cost of the contract when including social and environmental improvements, in order to avoid a reduction in the quality of the bids. It is also necessary to implement common bases that ensure the appropriate use of these criteria and the monitoring and control of their application through the figure of the person responsible for the contract.