One of the unique elements of the Paris Olympic games was the Social Charter which emphasised the social aspect of public procurement. This included involving social economy enterprises as well as ensuring the labour was procured inclusively. Paris used a series of public procurers, social economy enterprises and intermediary actors to gather expertise to execute the project. 

Renovation of existing buildings and re-use of existing furniture were key to ensuring the procurement process was circular. Re-use of the buildings after the games was also taken into consideration, and the Athlete’s Village will be converted into a mixed neighbourhood (including housing, offices and public facilities) after the games. Efforts went even further, when a tender was published by SOLIDEO with the aim to produce high-quality soil substrates. Soil extraction is a major issue in urban development and contributes to CO2 emissions as well as has a negative impact on ecosystems and air quality. The consortium who won, led by Halage, preserved 1,500 cubic metres of natural soil as well as employed people on the skills for preparing soil from recovered materials that result from construction. These combined efforts are estimated to have saved 45% of CO2 emissions. 

Read more about the Paris Olympics in the full article, as well as the public procurement research report by RREUSE.