Internationally there is a strong trend of implementing Green Public Procurement (GPP), and it is seen as an environmental policy tool. By its purchasing power public authorities are via environmental concerns in procurement believed to have the power of stimulating firms to reduce emissions, be resource efficient, and developing products proper in line with a sustainable society. In allocating public contracts authorities use award methods and scoring rules. This paper discusses the procedure of allocating contracts when GPP is applied. Departing from previous research on this topic the paper explicitly discusses the pivotal role of using suitable award methods and scoring rules for GPP to functioning as an efficient environmental policy tool. It is most important that GPP matches the preferences of the society (e.g., a municipality or a state authority). Assuming that GPP can be used as an environmental policy tool, the authors present general guidelines for choosing an efficient award method and scoring rule in perspective of welfare and sustainability.The necessity of such guidelines cannot be emphasized enough, partly because previous scientific literature on the topic is very scarce and partly, which is most serious, empirical data (Swedish public procurement data) indicate that scoring rules that violates necessary conditions for efficient outcomes are commonly used. It cannot be ruled out that this unfortunate circumstance causes the society substantial costs. In this perspective it is also noteworthy that Sweden is regarded as a frontrunner in successfully implementing GPP (Kahlenborn et al., 2011).
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