CE-PRINCE (Central Europe Green PRocurement and Innovation Network for Circular Economy) is an Interreg Central Europe project focusing on circular procurement. It aims to support the transition to a circular economy in Central Europe by making businesses more circular and building the public sector’s capacity to publish tenders which are increasingly circular.

The project has developed a Circular Criteria Set which helps public buyers move from traditional Green Public Procurement towards Circular Public Procurement.

Based on an analysis across seven Central European countries, the set addresses gaps in existing criteria related to product durability, repair, reuse, take-back systems and resource recovery. It introduces upgraded circular criteria for four key sectors (agrifood, construction, manufacturing and tourism-related goods and services) supported by a scoring system from 1 to 5 that assesses their contribution to circularity. The framework offers practical, adaptable guidance aligned with national procurement rules and market conditions.

The Circular Criteria Set also provides a six-step guide to help public buyers select, adapt and integrate circular criteria into tender documents, from defining procurement objectives to monitoring implementation. The accompanying Excel workbook helps contracting authorities seeking to strengthen circularity in their purchasing decisions.

The next phase will test the criteria in real procurement procedures across participating countries. Public procurers, suppliers and stakeholders interested in applying the criteria or following the pilots should visit the project website and get in touch with the CE-PRINCE partnership.