This Nordic program supports municipalities and other public organisations in adopting circular solutions. Learn more about our networks, funding opportunities, and how to get involved.
Public procurement as a driver for circular solutions
Public procurement represents about 15 percent of GDP in the Nordic region, giving the public sector substantial market influence. By uniting leading procurement organisations and collaborating with suppliers, the program seeks to accelerate the transition to a more circular and resource-efficient economy.
Financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers
NPCP is a Nordic programme funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers and led by the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ). Under Vision 2030, the Nordic prime ministers have committed to making the Nordic region the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. Our programme is one of several initiatives contributing to this shared vision.
The project partners are:
- Upphandlingsmyndigheten (Sweden)
- Motiva (Finland)
- The Danish Environmental Protection Agency and SKI (Denmark)
The program period lasts from August 2025 to December 2027.
Apply for funding for projects on circular procurement and logistics
As part of the programme, we have established The Innovation Fund for Circular Solutions. The scheme aims to support municipalities in testing and scaling circular solutions that can reduce emissions and costs related to procurement. Municipalities can apply for 100,000-750,000 kroner per project. The NPCP will provide close follow-up from our networks and innovation experts, to maximize the chances of successful implementation beyond the pilot-phase.
Read about innovation projects we financed in our first program period
Bærum, Oslo, and Drammen are addressing transport challenges by improving data integration and reducing manual processes. Their collaboration aims to implement efficient, sustainable strategies to cut emissions, showcasing the power of cross-sector cooperation for a greener future.
Asker Municipality, in collaboration with14 other municipalities, is developing a digital reuse platform to streamline material reuse and reduce waste. Running through 2024, the project aims to automate processes and increase sustainability by making it easier for employees to report needs and share surplus items across municipalities.
NAV Assistive Technology Centre Agder has undertaken significant measures to enhance the sustainability of its transport and logistics operations. By focusing on groupage and efficient coordination, the Centre aims to better utilise available transport capacity, thereby reducing emissions and operational costs.
In an effort to improve urban logistics and sustainability, the City of Stockholm has partnered with Menigo Foodservice AB to pilot off-peak delivery of food supplies to schools, preschools, and care homes. This initiative, set for Q1 and Q2 of 2024, aims to test and verify the feasibility and benefits of scheduling deliveries outside traditional hours.
Results from the first program period
In June 2025, we concluded the first phase of our Nordic collaboration. Here are some of the key results:
- New impact calculators for ICT and furniture. These are practical tools for public organizations to measure emission and cost savings from buying second-hand, extending product lifetimes, or reducing consumption.
- Testing how to optimize logistics to reduce costs and emissions, with cases in Stockholm, Bærum, and NAV Agder.
- Funding of an innovative procurement between Asker and Loopfront, with the development of a marketplace for second-hand products.
- Development and testing of criteria for circular ICT, that have been implemented within 180+ public organisations in the Nordics.
Join our networks for ambitious buyers!
The program brings together key procurement actors from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway - from local to national and Nordic levels. Together, these organizations represent significant market power and can drive real change through public demand.
We have established three networks, forming the basis of the program. The networks cover sectors with a high potential for reducing the environmental footprint, developing Nordic markets, and cutting public spending. These networks meet 2-3 times a year.
The target group are ambitious procurers, primarily from municipalities and central purchasing bodies.
If you are interested in joining a network, send us an email.
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Sindre Haakonsen | Program Leader | [email protected] |
| Dorthea Almklov | Program Coordinator | [email protected] |
| Joakim Thornéus | ICT Network Leader | [email protected] |
| Jenni Rovio | Construction Materials Network Leader | [email protected] |
| Odd Olaf Schei | ZED (logistics) Network Leader | [email protected] |
| Eva Dirdal | Green Procurement Analyser leader | [email protected] |
| William Biørnstad | Procurement Behaviour Leader | [email protected] |
What you can expect from the networks
With new circular initiatives from the EU and national governments, it’s essential to combine top-down policies with bottom-up action. In our networks, we design activities based on the needs of participating organizations – identifying shared barriers and developing practical solutions together.
Key activities in the networks include the following:
Meetings 2-3 times per year
The networks meet twice a year. Next meetings are scheduled in May/June 2026.
Send us an email if you have any questions about network meetings. You find our contact information on the bottom of this page.
Market dialogues and criteria development
We regularly invite key suppliers to network meetings to explore new ideas and co-develop criteria for circular products and services.
Collaboration on innovation projects (pilots)
Each network will fund and support projects among its members. Network meetings will serve as arenas to share lessons learned, collaborate on solutions, and plan how to move from pilots to long-term implementation and scaling.
Implementation in real procurement
We focus on turning ambition into action by supporting real implementation in procurements. All activities in the programme are designed to ensure solutions are not only tested, but scaled and embedded in practice across the Nordics.
New data tools
In the networks, we will develop practical tools - such as impact calculators - to support circular procurement in practice.
You are free to explore the impact calculators we developed in the first project period, on ICT and furniture. On the website below, you find translations to English, Danish, Finish and Swedish.
Undersøk hvordan forskjellige tiltak påvirker CO2-utslipp og kostnadsbesparelser for IKT-utstyr i din virksomhet.
Undersøk hvordan forskjellige tiltak påvirker CO2-utslipp og kostnadsbesparelser for møbler i din virksomhet.
Cross-cutting projects
In addition to the sector-specific activities, we also run three cross-cutting initiatives:
- An AI in procurement initiative, named the Green Procurement Analyzer.
- Procurement behavior (research and tools to maximize the uptake of circular solutions).
- Digital product passports (starting in April 2026)
These projects help us test new approaches and create tools that can be used across all sectors.
Project timeline
Highlights from August 2021 to 2025
August 2021: Project start of Circular and Climate-Friendly Public Procurement
December 2021: Nordic Circular Furniture Market Dialogue Conference – Watch the conference
February 2022: Nordic Circular OCT Market Dialogue Conference – Watch the conference
August 2022: Published report on Climate Accounting in Public Procurement
December 2022: The project funded an innovative ICT procurement conducted by Asker Municipality
August 2023: Nordic Zero Emission Delivery Dialogue Workshop
December 2023: The project funded three innovative zero emission delivery procurement projects conducted by
September 2024: The AI-project Green Procurement Analyser was launched.
February 2025: Launch of effect calculators on furniture and ICT, showing potential cost and CO2 savings from buying second-hand, repair and reducing the total number of purchases.
June 2025: Final event for the project in Oslo - Watch the event
Authumn 2025: Launch of the Nordic Program for Circular Procurement!
Winter 2025/2026: Launch of the first call for municipalities: The innovation fund for circular solutions