Models for tendering

There are different models for including Fair Trade considerations in public purchasing - each with its own strengths. Four different models are presented below. In the next section (Purchasing Criteria) a number of actual specifications and award criteria options are provided, which may be used directly in tendering documents.

 

 

Fair Trade considerations in TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

Demanding in the technical specifications that all, or some products must be Fair Trade, is the most direct and reliable way to buy fair. This approach is preferred by the European Commission as it is very transparent and limits any discretion or manipulation by the contracting body.

 

(Example technical specifications can be found here). 

 

 

Fair Trade considerations in AWARD PHASE

 

Fair Trade criteria can also be used in the award phase of tendering, i.e. as one of the criteria for deciding which offer to accept, together with criteria such as price.
Using award criteria rather than technical specifications essentially means that Fair Trade products are "preferred" but not "obligatory", and is therefore weaker but enables a price cap to be set.
When using non-economic award criteria, these criteria must be clearly mentioned when the tender is published.

 

(Example award criteria can be found here).

 

 

 Fair Trade considerations in SPECIFICATION & AWARD PHASE


It is possible to include Fair Trade criteria in both the technical specifications and award phase. In this way you can both ensure that a certain percentage of the products you buy are Fair Trade, and encourage suppliers to offer even higher percentages.


(Example technical specifications and award criteria, which can be combined, can be found here).

 

 

 Fair Trade considerations in VARIANTS


If you are concerned that buying Fair Trade products will be much more expensive another option is to ask potential bidders to submit "variants".

This means that you establish a minimum set of technical specifications for the product/service, which will apply to both the neutral offer and its variant. For the latter, you will add extra Fair Trade criteria to the specification. When
the bids are sent in, you can then compare them all (the neutral ones and the variant ones) on the basis of the same set of award criteria. This allows a clear comparison of Fair Trade and non-Fair Trade products.


This is arguably the least legally and financially "risky" approach, however can be administrativelydemanding, and there is less certainty of actually buying Fair Trade products.