Biodiversity footprint of public procurement in Finland

Halting biodiversity loss requires systematic action from all sectors of society. The public sector is a significant actor globally in creating markets for goods and services, public procurement representing on average 13 – 20% of national gross domestic product. In this study, we assessed the biodiversity footprint of public procurement in Finland for years 2021 and 2022. We applied the consumption-based hybrid-LCA biodiversity footprint model BIOVALENT, where EXIOBASE and LC-IMPACT databases are combined to connect the economic activities in the value chains of procured goods and services with the resulting biodiversity impact. Our results indicate that (i) largest contributors to the biodiversity footprint of public procurement in Finland in 2022 were construction and maintenance (20%), energy consumption (14%), health and social services (10%), and medication and care supplies (10%); (ii) the greatest potential in mitigating the biodiversity footprint of public procurement lies in construction and maintenance, medication and care supplies, energy consumption, and in food and accommodation services; and (iii) according to the model on average over 90% of the biodiversity footprint was located overseas. These insights from our analysis can be used for guiding mitigation actions towards potentially most impactful procurement categories. The considerable role of the value chain in the harmful biodiversity impacts call for significant changes in the public procurement practices, given their influence throughout production systems and consumption patterns.