Public procurement in Portugal · Environment

Green public procurement in Portugal

1.8% of the public contracts signed in Portugal from January to August 2026 are marked as ecological in the Portal BASE register: 3,160 of 171,806, carrying 4.3% of the contracted value (€647.3m). In the same months of 2025 it was 1.3% of contracts and 3.1% of value. The buyer sets the mark, and the register does not say which criterion was used. The rules in force today: Article 25 of the Net-Zero Industry Act, which after 30 June 2026 binds every covered procedure to the Commission's minimum requirements (the first, for wind power, has applied since 30 June 2026); Article 65 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, which empowers the Commission to make minimum requirements mandatory product group by product group; and, in Portugal, the ECO360 strategy (RCM 13/2023), the ecological criteria of RCM 132/2023, some of them mandatory for the State since the second quarter of 2024, and the RCM 162/2024 action plan, which measures uptake in Portal BASE itself.

Rules read in the Official Journal of the European Union and the Diário da República on 11 October 2026; contracts counted in IMPIC's open data, edition of 4 October 2026.

Data: Portal BASE (IMPIC), edition

1.8%of contracts signed January to August 2026 marked ecological
4.3%of contracted value in the same period
3,160ecological contracts, against 2,327 in the same months of 2025
561contracts in the 2026 file carrying both marks, counted as not ecological

The rules in force

From Brussels to Lisbon, each rule with whom it binds and since when. None requires the buyer to mark the contract as ecological in Portal BASE, which is what the count below measures.

Net-Zero Industry Act, Article 25

In procedures covered by the EU procurement directives that concern, even in part, net-zero technologies, contracting authorities and entities apply the mandatory minimum environmental sustainability requirements set by implementing act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1735, Article 25(1)). Until 30 June 2026 the obligation applied only to central purchasing bodies and to contracts of EUR 25 million or more (Article 49(3)). In covered works contracts and works concessions, the buyer also applies at least one social, cybersecurity or timely-delivery condition (Article 25(3)).

The first implementing act: recyclable wind blades

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/718 of 20 March 2026, applicable since 30 June 2026, covers onshore and offshore wind: turbine blades must have a recyclability rate of at least 70%, shown by the end of the contract at the latest (Article 2(1)). The Commission's guidance on Article 25 appeared in the Official Journal on 31 August 2026 (C/2026/4623) and describes itself as not legally binding.

Ecodesign regulation, Article 65

Contracting authorities and entities shall award contracts that meet minimum requirements for products covered by ecodesign delegated acts, and the Commission is empowered to set them by implementing acts, as technical specifications, award criteria, contract performance conditions or targets (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Article 65(1) and (3)). Award criteria shall carry, where appropriate, a minimum weighting between 15% and 30%, and targets a minimum of 50% of public contracts. The article bites product group by product group, as those acts are adopted.

ECO360, the national strategy (RCM 13/2023)

Portugal's National Strategy for Green Public Procurement 2030, of 10 February 2023, promotes ecological criteria in the procedures of the State's direct and indirect administration and of State-owned companies (point 1). It is a strategy: it guides, and the obligations come from the resolutions that followed.

Mandatory ecological criteria for the State (RCM 132/2023)

RCM 132/2023 sets ecological criteria for the procedures of the State's direct and indirect administration, State-owned companies included (point 1), across 16 contract categories, from clothing and electricity to vehicles, paper, furniture, cleaning, catering, IT equipment and works. Each criterion is mandatory, voluntary, recommended or optional, and a mandatory one gives way only where it would significantly restrict competition (point 5). It applies to procedures started from the first working day of the second quarter of 2024 (point 7), and not, for example, where an earlier tender drew no bids or every bid was excluded for failing the criteria (point 6). Its scope does not name local government.

The ECO360 action plan (RCM 162/2024)

RCM 162/2024 of 12 November 2024 approves the action plan (point 1) and measures uptake with Portal BASE indicators, among them the share of goods and services contracts, and of their value, that adopt environmental criteria. It tasks IMPIC with updating Portal BASE to report ecological criteria (point 6) and asks the register to record the nature of the criteria applied (action A5.1.1). The strategy's intermediate reports are due by the end of the third quarter of 2027 and of 2029 (point 11), and the technical office prepares a proposal to revise RCM 132/2023 (point 9).

What the register shows

Every contract in Portal BASE carries the field ContratEcologico, which the buyer fills in with Sim (yes) or Não (no). TRINTA counted it contract by contract, by signature date, in the same files and the same period as the Portuguese figures in TRINTA's procurement statistics.

Public contracts marked ecological in Portal BASE: January to August 2026, January to August 2025 and all of 2025. TRINTA's count of IMPIC open data.
PeriodEcologicalOfShareValueShare of value
January to August 20263,160171,8061.8%€647.3m4.3%
January to August 20252,327169,3941.3%€519.5m3.1%
All of 20253,887246,1741.5%€780.2m3.2%

The share of contracts rose from 1.3% to 1.8% and the share of value rose from 3.1% to 4.3%. Value weighs more than number: contracts marked ecological are, on average, larger than the rest.

By procedure

Procedures with at least 1,000 contracts signed January to August 2026, from the largest share of ecological contracts to the smallest. The 2,006 contracts of rarer procedures count in the total, not here.

Contracts marked ecological by procedure, January to August 2026: Portal BASE (IMPIC), TRINTA's count.
ProcedureContractsEcologicalShareShare of value
Prior consultation (consulta prévia)27,3159333.4%4.0%
Open procedure (concurso público)26,7549293.4%5.9%
Direct award (ajuste direto)72,2829141.2%2.0%
Under a framework agreement (art. 258)4,305400.9%3.2%
Excluded from Part II of the code13,452550.4%6.2%
Under a framework agreement (art. 259)25,692530.2%1.7%

By sector (CPV division)

CPV divisions with at least 1,000 contracts in the period, by each contract's first CPV code, from the largest share to the smallest, with the share in the same months of 2025 beside it. The share rose in 21 of the 28 divisions. Food, beverages, tobacco and related products leads, with 8.5% of contracts and 22.0% of value. The 8,127 contracts in smaller divisions count in the total, not here. Each division has its own page in the CPV codes.

Contracts marked ecological by CPV division, January to August 2026 and the same months of 2025: Portal BASE (IMPIC), TRINTA's count.
DivisionContractsEcologicalShare 2026Share 2025
15 Food, beverages, tobacco and related products4,6283988.5%6.9%
30 Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages4,4622465.5%5.4%
34 Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation3,2781454.4%5.1%
45 Construction work8,2663634.3%2.3%
39 Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products5,1041953.8%2.8%
55 Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services1,925693.5%2.1%
32 Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment1,435513.5%1.9%
60 Transport services (excl. Waste transport)2,710833.0%1.6%
50 Repair and maintenance services7,6402192.8%1.7%
90 Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services4,0571162.8%3.0%
09 Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy1,725462.6%2.9%
48 Software package and information systems1,960502.5%1.2%
42 Industrial machinery1,724422.4%1.0%
44 Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)3,045672.2%1.5%
31 Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting1,918432.2%1.7%
79 Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security10,7282061.9%1.3%
77 Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services1,677331.9%1.2%
66 Financial and insurance services1,561291.8%1.3%
71 Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services6,071931.5%1.1%
72 IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support5,836861.4%0.8%
92 Recreational, cultural and sporting services6,917771.1%1.1%
38 Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)2,597311.1%1.7%
75 Administration, defence and social security services1,15090.7%0.0%
63 Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services4,347240.5%0.3%
33 Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products55,4922390.4%0.0%
98 Other community, social and personal services3,697180.4%0.2%
85 Health and social work services5,132150.2%0.3%
80 Education and training services4,59560.1%0.3%

Who marks the most contracts as ecological

The ten contracting authorities with the most contracts marked ecological, January to August 2026, grouped by tax number (NIF) and never by name, with the share those contracts are of everything each one signed. 366 of the 4,213 buyers with contracts in the period marked at least one.

The ten buyers with the most contracts marked ecological, January to August 2026: Portal BASE (IMPIC), grouped by NIF.
BuyerNIFEcologicalOfShare
Município de Loures50129499633036191.4%
Universidade do Porto50141319726986731.0%
Serviço de Utilização Comum dos Hospitais50090046918647439.2%
Município de Lisboa50005107015472021.3%
Município do Porto50130609911639229.5%
Unidade Local de Saúde do Alto Alentejo E.P.E508094461842,0154.1%
Construção Pública, EPE5080696458116250.0%
Município de Cascais5051875316833620.2%
Unidade Local de Saúde Tâmega e Sousa, E.P.E.508318262679936.7%
Cascais Próxima - Gestão de Mobilidade, Espaços Urbanos e Energias, EM, SA504853635627384.9%

A contract with both marks

IMPIC's file repeats rows of the same contract that differ only in the ecological mark or the award criterion. In the edition of 4 October 2026, 561 contracts in the 2026 file and 9 in the 2025 file appear once as ecological and once as not. The rule on this page: a contract counts as ecological only when every one of its rows says so, and a contract with both marks counts as not ecological. The shares are therefore floors.

There are 456 such contracts in the period. Counted as ecological, the share for January to August 2026 would be 2.1% of contracts and 5.6% of value, instead of 1.8% and 4.3%. Keeping the first row of each contract, as TRINTA's other Portuguese counts do, would not settle it: of the 561 contracts of 2026, the first row says yes for 253 and no for the rest, an accident of the file's order.

How TRINTA counted

The buyer sets the mark

ContratEcologico is what the buyer declared when it reported the contract. The file does not say which criterion was used, or whether it was a selection criterion, a specification, an award factor or a performance clause, and TRINTA does not check the mark against the tender documents.

Every contract, every buyer

The ECO360 action plan measures goods and services contracts of the State administration and State-owned companies. This count reads every contract of every buyer, municipalities and works included, so its shares are not the plan's indicators.

One contract, once, by signature date

Each idcontrato counts once, in the month of its signature date, in the period of TRINTA's Portuguese barometer, and the script reproduces the barometer's contract count and value before it writes. Value is the contract price, cut to the euro. The sector is the division of the contract's first CPV code.

Two counts for every figure

Ecological contracts, their value and the contracts with both marks are counted by two independent routes, and the script stops if they differ. The script is scripts/gen-compras-ecologicas.py and reads the same files as the barometer.

Frequently asked questions

01

What is green public procurement in Portugal?

The ECO360 action plan (RCM 162/2024) defines it as the process by which public bodies meet their needs by buying products, services and works with a low environmental impact over their life cycle. In practice: environmental criteria in the specifications, the award or the performance of the contract.

02

What share of Portugal's public contracts is green?

From January to August 2026, 1.8% of public contracts (3,160 of 171,806) and 4.3% of their value are marked ecological in Portal BASE, by TRINTA's count. In the same months of 2025 it was 1.3% and 3.1%. The buyer declares the mark.

03

Are green criteria mandatory in Portuguese public procurement?

For the State's direct and indirect administration and State-owned companies, yes, for the criteria RCM 132/2023 classes as mandatory, unless they would significantly restrict competition, in procedures started from the first working day of the second quarter of 2024. Its other criteria are voluntary, recommended or optional. In contracts covered by Article 25 of the Net-Zero Industry Act, the Commission's minimum requirements bind every contracting authority.

04

What does the Net-Zero Industry Act change in public tenders?

Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 requires the Commission's minimum environmental sustainability requirements in covered procedures that concern net-zero technologies; until 30 June 2026 it applied only to central purchasing bodies and contracts of EUR 25 million or more. The first requirement, applicable since 30 June 2026, demands wind blades at least 70% recyclable.

05

What does Article 65 of the ecodesign regulation say?

That contracting authorities shall award contracts meeting minimum requirements for products covered by ecodesign delegated acts, and that the Commission sets them by implementing acts: specifications, award criteria with a minimum weighting between 15% and 30%, conditions, or targets of at least 50% of contracts.

06

How can I tell whether a Portuguese public contract is green?

In Portal BASE every contract carries the ecological-contract mark, yes or no, filled in by the buyer. It does not say which criterion was used; for that, read the tender documents. RCM 162/2024 asks the register to start recording the nature of the criteria applied.

07

Which sectors have the most green contracts?

By the share of contracts marked ecological, January to August 2026, among CPV divisions with at least 1,000 contracts: Food, beverages, tobacco and related products (8.5%), Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages (5.5%), Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation (4.4%).

08

Which buyers mark the most contracts as green?

From January to August 2026, by tax number: Município de Loures (330 of 361 contracts), Universidade do Porto (269 of 867 contracts), Serviço de Utilização Comum dos Hospitais (186 of 474 contracts). The top ten are on this page.

Sources

  1. Regulation (EU) 2024/1735, the Net-Zero Industry Act (Articles 25 and 49) (Official Journal of the European Union, read on )
  2. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/718 of 20 March 2026 (minimum environmental sustainability requirements) (Official Journal of the European Union, read on )
  3. Commission Communication C/2026/4623, guidance on the application of Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 (Official Journal of the European Union, C series, 31.8.2026, read on )
  4. Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, ecodesign for sustainable products (Article 65) (Official Journal of the European Union, read on )
  5. Council of Ministers Resolution 13/2023 of 10 February (ECO360), in Portuguese (Diário da República (Portugal's official journal), read on )
  6. Council of Ministers Resolution 132/2023 of 25 October (ecological criteria), in Portuguese (Diário da República (Portugal's official journal), read on )
  7. Council of Ministers Resolution 162/2024 of 12 November (ECO360 action plan), in Portuguese (Diário da República (Portugal's official journal), read on )
  8. Public contracts, Portal BASE, IMPIC: contracts 2012 to 2026 (open data) (IMPIC, on dados.gov.pt, read on )

How to cite

TRINTA, "Green public procurement in Portugal", Portal BASE (IMPIC), edition 4 October 2026, https://trinta.ai/green-public-procurement (accessed [date]).

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