20. Development of Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria
Type of service
Guidance on how to complete public procurement tenders can encourage the provision of environmental beneficial goods and services. This guidance consists in providing product- and service-specific green public procurement criteria. These ready-to-use criteria are developed in close co-operation with all interested stakeholders, namely industry, NGOs and Member States, and represent the state-of-the-art description of how specific goods and services can be purchased in a more environmental friendly way. In order to be of use in all EU regions, GPP criteria are downloadable for free in all official EU languages.
Type of service
JRC develops the EMAS Sectoral Reference Documents (SRDs) on Best Environmental Management Practices (BEMPs) for eleven priority sectors . DG Environment is the main partner DG in the Commission for this work. One of the priority sectors is Public Administration where the identified BEMPs focus on how to help public sector organisations, primarily local and regional government, improve their environmental performance, by adopting practical initiatives, measures, techniques and actions implemented by the best performing (frontrunner) organisations within the sector.
The BEMPs also include environmental performance indicators that allow the organisations to monitor the performance of their environmental management, plus benchmarks of excellence, which provide an indication of the levels achieved by the frontrunners and can be taken as inspiration (but are not set as targets to reach).
Public sector organisations that wish to improve their performance can refer to the Best Practice report for this sector, which compiles detailed information on how to implement the BEMPs. The Sectoral Reference Document (SRD) is a shorter legal text which summarises all the BEMPs and presents the environmental performance indicators as well as benchmarks of excellence.
For specific issues, public sector organisations will also usefully refer to the SRDs and best practice reports for other relevant sectors, e.g. waste management or tourism (cf. destination management).
JRC identifies the BEMPs based on a deep analysis of existing publications and through close collaboration with expert stakeholders from the sector, such as waste authorities, waste advisers, NGOs etc.
22. Addressing thirsty regions and cities
Type of service
JRC is providing scientific support to the implementation of a range of EU policies, some directly related to water and others affecting status and availability of water through regulations of sectoral activities (e.g. the Common Agricultural Policy). JRC is also engaged in the development of the European Innovation Partnership, which identifies water as an area where innovation is necessary to set Europe on a path to sustainable growth. Working together with regions, JRC facilitates joint building of assessment capacity of future water resources under present and a changing environment (e.g. climate change, land use) and contributes to the harmonization across countries of the implementation of EU-water policies in a transboundary context.
23. Best Environment Management Practice for the Waste Management Sector
Type of service
JRC develops the EMAS Sectoral Reference Documents (SRDs) on Best Environmental Management Practices (BEMPs) for eleven priority sectors . DG Environment is the main partner DG in the Commission for this work. One of the priority sectors is Waste Management where the identified BEMPs focus on how to help waste management companies and waste authorities improve their environmental performance, by adopting practical initiatives, measures, techniques and actions implemented by the best performing (frontrunner) organisations within the sector.
The BEMPs also include environmental performance indicators that allow companies and waste authorities to monitor the performance of their environmental management; and benchmarks of excellence, which provide an indication of the levels achieved by the frontrunners and can be taken as inspiration (but are not set as targets to reach).
Organisations responsible for waste management who wish to improve their performance can refer to the Best Practice report for this sector, which compiles detailed information on how to implement the BEMPs. The Sectoral Reference Document is a shorter legal text which summarises all the BEMPs and presents the environmental performance indicators as well as benchmarks of excellence.
JRC identifies the BEMPs based on a deep analysis of existing publications and through close collaboration with expert stakeholders from the sector, such as waste authorities, waste advisers, NGOs etc.
Type of service
The SHERPA tool (Screening for High Emission Reduction Potentials on Air quality) is a user-friendly interactive tool that can support regional and local authorities in designing air quality plans. By following a three stage process: Source Allocation, Governance and Scenario analysis, a policy maker can investigate how much of an improvement in air quality can be made from acting locally, in which sectors actions should be taken (City, Province, Region, State) and how much additional improvement can be gained from coordinating these abatement measures with neighbouring areas.
25. Supporting regions in the sustainable management of soil resources
Type of service
JRC has developed a series of technical approaches to help regions assess the state of soil and key pressures acting on it. JRC can assist regions through technical assistance, training, analysis, modelling and study visits to support the development of competences.
26. Information, Knowledge and Tools to Support Public Authorities on INSPIRE implementation
Type of service
The INSPIRE Knowledge Base is an interactive online platform providing access for all resources related to INSPIRE. INSPIRE is the European legal framework establishing standards to share spatial data in agreed way. It allows data to be reused across regions and Member States, to be discovered, viewed and accessed easily by public bodies and other interested parties. It started with information needed for environmental policy but, over time, evolved and is today used in many other sectors such as: e-government, agriculture, intelligent transport systems, disaster risk management, smart cities, energy efficiency, etc.
In close cooperation with INSPIRE's policy master, DG Environment, and the European Environment Agency, the JRC acts as the overall technical coordinator for INSPIRE Maintenance and Implementation. It also carries out activities to facilitate the implementation by regional and local public authorities.
JRC developed legal Implementing Rules, Technical Guidelines and other supporting reference material, registers and registry services, now available in the INSPIRE Knowledge Base. Through this interactive platform, JRC supports Member States and regional authorities by providing background information and resources, reusable tools for the implementation of INSPIRE, training resources, information on implementation in each Member State and access to the INSPIRE Geoportal.
27. Supporting regions to assess farm sustainability (SOSTARE)
Type of service
The SOSTARE model (Analysis of farm technical efficiency and impacts on environmental and economic sustainability) is a diagnostic tool to assess the general performance of a farm, explore in detail any perceived weaknesses in farm management and investigate the impact of changes that might improve efficiency.
It has been developed by JRC for the Administration of Lombardy Region, in partnership with Parco Ticino, the Universities of Milan, Turin, Pavia and Agricola2000.
The model is in the implementation phase on SisCo, the web platform of Regione Lombardia.
Related Content
Practical Handbook for Regional Authorities
JRC Services: why and how to engage with the European Commission’s science and knowledge service