Procurement for sustainable local economic development

Purpose – The paper seeks to demonstrate how local entities, such as cities and counties, can use environmentally preferable purchasing plans as a tool in developing the local green economy. First, the authors focus specifically on either the rise of economic development programs through buy‐local efforts, or the focus on environmental sustainability through green procurement programs. Second, the authors discuss how locally driven, environmentally preferable purchasing could be used as a strategy to marry these goals together and utilize procurement as a tool to achieve green local economic development. Design/methodology/approach – This research used qualitative methods to examine both procurement for economic development through the use of buy local campaigns, in addition to environmentally preferable procurement policies that have been used to bolster environmental quality in communities. Findings – Green local economic development can be achieved by melding together procurement programs previously singularly focused on either economic development aims, or environmental preservation. It is found that procurement can be used as a viable tool in fostering both economic and environmental goals, and as a key policy and planning tool for sub‐national governments in the pursuit of a green economy. Originality/value – Given the increased attention of achieving sustainable development in communities, this paper seeks to re‐envision procurement as one crucial tool for municipalities and regional governments that seek to bolster green jobs in their communities. The paper seeks to develop a new framework for public procurement through this investigation.