Our objective was to equip environmental engineers, public procurement professionals and SME entrepreneurs with a shared set of competences and a common language for sustainable innovation procurement. To do so, the PRECIUS consortium set out to design, test and openly publish a modular, 4-ECTS online course: a core module on leadership, co-creation and change management, plus three specialist modules that let each group step into the shoes of the other two communities. By creating this freely accessible learning pathway on the ECIU/Canvas platform, we aimed to build mutual understanding, boost SMEs’ ability to bid successfully, strengthen the strategic capability of public buyers, and ultimately accelerate delivery of Green Deal objectives across Europe.
We applied because climate change and environmental degradation demand that every euro of public spending helps deliver the European Green Deal. Each year EU authorities spend about €2 trillion, 14 % of GDP on procurement, yet suppliers, public buyers and environmental engineers still struggle to turn that spending into sustainable innovation. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find public tenders complex; engineers need market partners to turn concepts into products; and procurement officers lack the strategic skills and leadership tools required to source green solutions. PRECIUS was launched to close these gaps and to foster collaboration among the three communities so that public procurement can become a true lever for climate-neutral, resource-efficient growth.