A systematic review of the critical barriers to green public procurement (GPP) performance evaluation for public sector institutions

Purpose Despite the growing emphasis on green public procurement (GPP), public institutions face challenges in attaining the desired levels of GPP performance. This study aims to identify the critical barriers to GPP performance evaluation by synthesising findings from existing literature, establish the interrelationship between the barriers and to propose strategies for addressing them. Design/methodology/approach This study was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocol. Forty papers were selected from Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. Findings Lack of knowledge, lack of awareness, resistance to change, budget constraints, high costs and inadequate regulations were identified as some critical barriers to GPP performance evaluation. There is a need to build stakeholders’ capacity. Government institutions must consistently monitor to ensure public institutions comply with GPP, using performance evaluations. Institutions should support and seek innovative revenue sources to fund GPP performance evaluation activities, rather than relying solely on government support. Research limitations/implications This study lacks empirical evidence to support its findings. It also focuses on public institutions, making the findings applicable to specific sectors. Practical implications Public institutions can adapt methods and tools that encourage and facilitate the practice of GPP performance evaluation. Management of public institutions needs to introduce innovative training programmes to equip procurement practitioners and other stakeholders with the benefits of GPP performance evaluation, thereby enhancing their knowledge base. Management should develop internal policies and standards for GPP performance evaluations while procurement practitioners implement regular monitoring and audits. Social implications This study emphasises the importance of training stakeholders on the barriers to GPP performance evaluation, empowering them to ensure that institutions conduct their activities in a way that does not harm their health or the environment. Originality/value This paper identifies the critical barriers to GPP performance evaluation, establishes their interrelationship and proposes strategies for addressing these barriers.