The study assessed the feasibility and suitability of including societal criteria in the procurement activities of EU space programmes. Using societal criteria, the Commission (and other responsible institutions involved in space procurement awards ) could award procurement contract according to their societal impact, on top of "traditional" procurement criteria (such as cost and quality). The final aim was to further improve the societal impact of the EU Space programmes.
The three societal criteria addressed in the study were: environmental, innovation and employment-related criteria. The project team i) investigated the legal feasibility of including societal criteria in the procurement of infrastructures for the EU space programmes; ii) estimated the impact of including selected societal criteria (environmental, innovation/ knowledge-related and employment) and iii) drawn conclusions regarding the most appropriate societal criteria to be included in future procurement (environmental, innovation/ knowledge-related or employment) and procurement activities best suited to societal criteria.
Case studies were developed on Green Public Procurement, covering a range of industrial products and services, and explored a Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) approach to the space industry.