DG EMPL commissioned a report published in 2010 entitled "Buying Social", which provided guidance on how to take "social considerations" into account within the EU and its
Member States'
public procurement processes. The guide provides a "non-exhaustive list" of potential social considerations which contracting authorities might refer to in their procurement processes, including employment opportunities for groups who struggle in the labour market, the "
decent work" agenda and
ethical trade. A second edition was published in 2021, updated to reflect changes in the legal context of public procurement following the adoption of the revised
Directive on Public Procurement in 2014, and now adding references to
green and
circular public procurement. The Public Procurement Unit, GROW.C.2 within the
Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, led on the revised publication. ==See also==