Public procurement as a mechanism to achieve sustainability: a proposal to overcome information gaps and data quality for the formulation of a new national action plan

Abstract

The Colombian State has the capacity to determine the conditions, prices and availability of final goods in the market, due to its participation in domestic consumption. For this reason, a significant volume of public policies, legal documents and manuals have been issued that aim to ensure environmental and social sustainability, associated with the Objectives and Goals of the 2030 Agenda, in Public Procurement. These tools have been agreed upon in “Sustainable Public Procurement,” which incorporates international obligations of the Colombian State, as well as goals such as the SDGs and social justice. However, this document demonstrates that, although these criteria have been incorporated in some processes, the limits of information, the platforms and data available, and the official reports lack elements that can account for the effectiveness and impact that the CPS may have in the market, as well as the effects it may be causing on national suppliers. Therefore, a simple solution will be proposed that incorporates specific metadata in the SECOP and that allows, at least in the future, to measure the effects of the CPS and formulate action plans based on data.