In Finland, the role of public procurement has also been important both to create demand for innovation and to ensure that innovation is sustainable.

During the last two years, the Finnish government has been promoting environmental sustainability through regulations in the area of public procurement.

The new initiatives include new market regulations that foster demand for innovation, innovation-focused public procurement, and a better understanding of the relationship between innovation and sustainability.

Extensive discussion on promoting innovative sustainability through regulations started during Finland’s EU Presidency in 2006. At that time, an expert group drew up a report for the European Commission on how European innovation policy should be revised. The main focus of this report was a pan-European policy regarding regulations and public procurement as tools for promoting innovation in the EU.

Source: www.tem.fi