SPASER : comment les acheteurs publics structurent leurs achats responsables

Temps de lecture : 9 minutes

Written by Matthieu Bruneau De La Salle

Public actors are increasingly expected to demonstrate their ability to integrate social, environmental, and economic criteria into their purchases. The SPASER has become, in just a few years, the central tool for this transformation. Here’s what you need to know to understand its stakes, obligations, and concrete implementation in 2026.

What is the SPASER?

The SPASER (Scheme for the Promotion of Socially and Environmentally Responsible Public Procurement) is a strategic document that allows public buyers to structure their responsible purchasing policy: objectives, actions, monitoring indicators, and management methods.

It also makes this policy more understandable for suppliers, elected officials, citizens, and stakeholders, by translating general commitments into concrete and measurable actions.

The SPASER, a requirement for certain public buyers

The SPASER is provided for in the article L.2111-3 of the Public Procurement Code. It concerns buyers subject to the Public Procurement Code whose total annual purchases exceed a threshold set by regulatory means.

Ce seuil est aujourd'hui fixé à 50 millions d'euros hors taxes par l'article D.2111-3 du même code — abaissé de 100 M€ à 50 M€ par le décret du 2 mai 2022, entré en vigueur au 1er janvier 2023.

Those concerned, when they exceed this threshold:

• The State and its ministries
• The large local authorities: regions, departments, metropolises
• Certain public institutions
• Purchasing centers
• Large public operators

The framework sets social and ecological objectives, outlines their implementation and monitoring methods, and relies on published indicators every two years.

From social to environmental: how the SPASER has evolved

The SPASER did not appear immediately in its current form. It was built gradually, at the intersection of several legislative developments.

Created by the law of July 31, 2014 related to social and solidarity economy, it initially targeted socially responsible public procurement, with particular attention to the integration and access of certain groups to public contracts.

In 2015, the law related to energy transition for green growth adds the ecological dimension. The framework becomes a tool for promoting public procurement that is both socially and ecologically responsible.

Its codification in the Public Procurement Code in 2019, followed by developments from the Climate and Resilience law, the decree of May 2, 2022, and the Green Industry law have gradually strengthened its role.

A new step on August 21, 2026

Starting from August 21, 2026, certain provisions from the Climate and Resilience law will apply to public contracts and concessions for which a consultation is initiated from that date.

In concrete terms :

• When they use a plurality of criteria, at least one of them must take into account the environmental characteristics of the offer
• When the buyer uses a single criterion, it must be the cost, which may be based on the life cycle cost, and taking into account the environmental characteristics of the offer

This deadline does not directly change the SPASER obligation, but it reinforces its usefulness: responsible purchasing strategies must be more concretely translated into consultations and the execution of contracts.

The four levers of SPASER to structure responsible public procurement

SPASER links regulatory requirements to their operational translation. It allows public buyers to structure their approach around four levers.

1. Move from a compliance logic to a management logic

It requires the public buyer to define social and environmental objectives, and then to monitor their achievement over time. A SPASER can rely on several families of indicators:

• Share of contracts integrating an environmental consideration
• Share of contracts integrating a social consideration
• Share of contracts awarded to social and solidarity economy structures
• Number of integration hours generated by public contracts
• Share of contracts integrating a criterion related to the life cycle cost
• Rate of suppliers evaluated on social, environmental, or ethical criteria
• Rate of suppliers who have provided documented CSR justifications

These indicators allow for a transition from a general intention to measurable monitoring of the responsible purchasing policy.

2. Structure the dialogue with suppliers

Buyers must be able to articulate clear expectations on their priority topics: climate, circular economy, inclusion, professional integration, professional equality, accessibility, digital sobriety, or managing environmental impacts.

3. Measure the actual impact of responsible purchasing

The SPASER is not limited to displaying commitments: it requires reliable data, regularly monitored indicators, and the ability to report on progress made.

4. Secure the purchasing decision

Social and environmental criteria must be documented, comparable, and objective, in order to avoid purely declarative or difficult-to-verify approaches.

The benefits of a SPASER approach

Beyond the regulatory obligation, the SPASER offers several concrete benefits.

It first allows for mobilizing internal teams around a common framework. Purchasing departments, business prescribers, elected officials, sustainable development departments, or legal services can rely on a shared roadmap.

The SPASER can also help to identify risks and opportunities related to purchases: dependence on certain suppliers, exposure to social or environmental risks, lack of appropriate clauses, insufficient documentation follow-up, or on the contrary, potential for responsible innovation.

Finally, it strengthens the transparency and credibility of the public buyer. By publishing its objectives and indicators, the organization accounts for its contribution to ecological transition, social inclusion, and the development of a more responsible economy.

Some examples of public SPASERs

Plusieurs organismes publics ont déjà publié leur SPASER — voici quelques références pour s'en inspirer :

These examples show that the SPASER is not just a legal document. It is also a management tool, a dialogue tool, and a means of gradually transforming purchasing practices.

What tools to make a SPASER operational?

To produce effects, a SPASER must rely on reliable data and appropriate monitoring tools. Public buyers can notably mobilize :

• A mapping of supplier risks
• Social and environmental clauses in contracts
• Regular monitoring indicators
• Structured supplier questionnaires
• Audits and extra-financial reporting
• Some CSR supplier evaluation platforms

Key takeaways

The SPASER is both a regulatory obligation and a strategic tool. It marks a strong evolution in public procurement: purchases are no longer only evaluated in terms of price or technical compliance, but also in terms of their social, environmental, and territorial contribution.

For public buyers, the challenge is now to move from a stated ambition to a managed, documented, and measurable approach. Its effectiveness will depend on the quality of the objectives, the relevance of the indicators, the mobilization of purchasing teams, the dialogue with suppliers, and the regular monitoring of results.

Chronological markers

Sources:

• Légifrance, Public Procurement Code, article L.2111-3
• Légifrance, Public Procurement Code, article D.2111-3
• Directorate of Legal Affairs, SPASER Technical Sheet, April 2024
• Légifrance, Decree No. 2022-767 of May 2, 2022
• State Purchasing Directorate, SPASER 2025-2027
• Bank of France, Responsible and Sustainable Purchasing