Chair: Sofia Käll

Group Purpose: The Policy Advocacy Group develops and coordinates evidence-based policy recommendations to strengthen socially responsible public procurement frameworks. The group’s aim is to ensure that public procurement legislation enables contracting authorities to prevent and address human rights risks, reward responsible suppliers, and support responsible business conduct. A key focus is aligning public procurement rules with emerging due diligence obligations and internationally recognised standards, and influencing policy reforms at EU level and, where relevant, in non-EU contexts.

Current Activity: The group is currently focused on developing joint IWGEPP positions and advocacy messages to inform the anticipated revision of the EU Public Procurement Directives. This includes contributing to policy consultations and calls for evidence, clarifying how human rights due diligence can be integrated across the procurement cycle, and engaging with EU institutions, MEPs and other stakeholders such as trade unions. The group also exchanges information on relevant public procurement and due diligence policy developments in selected non-EU jurisdictions to support policy learning and coherence.

The group’s input on the revisions of the public procurement directives can be accessed here.