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Public procurement has been identified both as a major driver of innovation and as an instrument to achieve a more environmentally sustainable society and economy. We shall argue here that the innovation agenda in public procurement has come under pressure in the context of the current government focus on efficiency, and that public procurement has not supported the environmental sustainability agenda1 as broadly as envisaged in past policy initiatives. In the private sector, achieving sustainable objectives through better managing of purchasing and supply chains has become a major feature for many companies. however, it has too often tended to maintain the technological status quo and only achieved incremental improvements.