Many current environmental problems are complicated, although a large number of them can be attributed to our consumption patterns.

The resulting environmental problems can't be solved solely through legislation and surveillance by official bodies, but must be supported by a variety of market-driven initiatives. Green Public Procurement (GPP) is increasingly regarded as an important mean for mitigating environmental problems for the following three main reasons:

Strong environmental policy commitment

The Swedish government's policy statement for 2000 focused specifically on GPP as public procurement to a much wider extent than currently practised could include environmental aspects. In early 2007, the government decided on a Swedish National Action Plan for GPP (2007-2009) indicating that GPP has particularly strong political commitment.

There has long been an increased international interest in GPP. Organisations such as the UN, OECD and EU consider GPP to be of highest priority to reach future environmental objectives.

Stimulus for development of new environmental technology

GPP can provide an incentive for new environmental technology. GPP can also produce quick technical developments in areas where the most urgent environmental issues require fast and comprehensive initiatives. For example, GPP can be an effective instrument for combating climate change since it is increasingly important that we reduce energy consumption. By putting demands on products and processes to be energy-efficient can attract attention to goods and services that not only fulfill a certain level of environmental performance, but are also less expensive to operate.

Socio-economic benefits

GPP can stimulate economic development and technical innovation, which may subsequently result in profitable exports for Swedish companies in future markets that have high environmental demands.

GPP is also important in ensuring that common tax revenues are handled wisely. With the appropriate environmental requirement, each percentage of rateable income used in GPP can generate a good yield for society.