{"id":1913,"date":"2026-04-22T10:44:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/en\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2026-04-22T10:58:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:58:36","slug":"nami-not-differently-less-procurement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/en\/nami-not-differently-less-procurement\/","title":{"rendered":"Not, differently and less procurement (NAMI): The most sustainable purchase is the one you don\u2019t make"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Environmental pressure in the Netherlands has risen by 58 per cent over the past thirty years due to growing consumption. For buyers, this means: the greatest impact is not made at the end of a product\u2019s life cycle, but at the start of the purchasing process when asking whether a purchase is actually necessary.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transition to a circular economy therefore requires not only better products, but also a change in behaviour. Don\u2019t buy, buy differently, or buy less. We spoke to Maaike Snijder, a researcher at the Public Procurement Research Group at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. Together with the \u2018Less is More\u2019 working group, she wrote a white paper for procurement professionals in the facilities sector.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What prompted you to write the white paper? <\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I conduct research within NAMI<\/a>, which stands for \u2018Niet Anders Minder Inkopen\u2019 (No Different, Less Procurement). Together with The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and Erasmus University, we are committed to bridging the gap between circular procurement policy and what actually happens in practice. We are working on this with our partners: the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, Rijkswaterstaat, PIANOo and Nevi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My part of the research focuses on the facilities sector. To this end, I worked with the \u2018Less is More\u2019 working group, one of the working groups within the Rijkswaterstaat FM Circular community<\/a>, a community of around 60 organisations that aim to contribute to a more sustainable world through facility management. What stood out was that the R-ladder<\/a> is a familiar concept in the world of circular procurement, but that it is essentially intended for manufacturers. The procurers in my working group did not really identify with it. They wanted to know what the top three strategies in particular meant for them in concrete terms. This aligned with the aim of our research and prompted us to organise three workshops: on what refuse, rethink and reduce mean for procurers, what obstacles you encounter, and what you need to really get started. The white paper emerged from that.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does \u2018refuse, rethink and reduce\u2019 mean in practice?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Refuse, rethink and reduce are the top strategies on the R-ladder<\/a> and therefore have the greatest impact on resource use. Yet, in practice, they are the least applied. We have translated them into procurement practice to offer a practical perspective for procurement professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n