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Birmingham Law School at EBRD SAPIENS Network Masterclass: Advancing Sustainability in Procurement

The University of Birmingham (Birmingham Law School) was one of the beneficiaries of the EU Horizon 2020-funded SAPIENS Network.

6 November 2025
Academics at the SAPIENS network

From 2021-2025 Professor Martin Trybus, Dr Henok Asmelash, and most importantly Marie Curie Fellows Xinyue Xue and Natalia Spataru represented the Birmingham branch of the network lead by the University of Turin. SAPIENS recently co-organised a masterclass on advancing sustainability in public procurement with its partner organisation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The event, which brought together leading European universities and industry partners to explore the frontiers of sustainable public procurement, took place at the EBRD headquarters in London on 2 October. The masterclass began with opening remarks from Professor Martin Trybus (University of Birmingham), the SAPIENS Network Director of Training, and Michael Strauss, General Counsel at the EBRD. Professor Trybus outlined the structure of the SAPIENS Network, highlighting its academic institutions and partner organisations, while Michael Strauss emphasised the EBRD’s commitment to advancing sustainability in procurement and its collaboration with academic institutions to achieve this goal.

Michael Strauss, Professor Roberto Carantar and Professor Martin Trybus

(from left to right: Michael Strauss, Professor Roberto Caranta (University of Turin), SAPIENS Network Coordinator and Professor Martin Trybus)

The masterclass featured a series of panels exploring different facets of sustainability objectives in public procurement. In each panel, SAPIENS Network Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) presented alongside practitioners outside the network to discuss innovative strategies for implementing sustainability practices across sectors and scales. The first session, titled ‘Procurement Cross-Border: From Fair Trade to Green Trade,’ featured SAPIENS ESRs Natalia Spataru and Xinyue Xue, who conducted their academic research at the University of Birmingham. Natalia discussed how new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) can guide more sustainable procurement, exploring the development of sustainable practices within FTAs. She also discussed how FTAs can enhance sustainability among Parties without creating trade barriers. Xinyue examined procurement legal instruments across the US, EU, and Brazil, highlighting how different legal systems design rules to encourage SME participation in public procurement. She showed how these frameworks create opportunities for smaller enterprises to engage in public contracts while simultaneously supporting sustainability objectives, demonstrating that diverse approaches

The second and third sessions featured SAPIENS ESRs Dr Laura Trevino Lozano (who conducted her doctoral research at the University of Greenwich) and Valentina Bianchini (who conducted her doctoral research at the Tor Vergata University). While contributing to the second session, ‘Towards Sustainable Procurement of Infrastructure’, Laura explored the intersection of human rights, procurement, and global supply chains, underscoring the importance of integrating human rights considerations into infrastructure procurement. Discussions also included the possibility of using public procurement to enforce labour rights and promote responsible business conduct. Valentina, who contributed to the third session, focused on how multilateral development banks (MDBs) can create value across economies. Valentina presented on harnessing procurement for impact, sharing the stage with MDB representatives who discussed the objectives and direction of the new EBRD Procurement Policy and Rules and the European Investment Bank’s approach to procurement in support of the circular economy.

Dr Kamala Dawar, Xinyue Xue and Natalia Spataru, and Adonai Herrera-Martinez

from left to right: Dr Kamala Dawar, Queen Mary University, SAPIENS Network ESRs Xinyue Xue and Natalia Spataru, who conducted their doctoral research at the University of Birmingham, Adonai Herrera-Martinez, Director, Environment and Sustainability, EBRD

The masterclass ended with closing remarks from SAPIENS Network coordinator Professor Roberto Caranta and Michael Strauss, who highlighted the value of collaboration between academia, policy-makers, and industry practitioners in translating research into actionable strategies. Participants left with a deeper understanding of how sustainable procurement practices can be implemented across different sectors and scales, the role of legal and policy frameworks in promoting sustainability, and the potential for public procurement to drive positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes.

 

Featured staff

  • Professor Martin Trybus

    Professor of European Law and Policy

    Academic profile of Professor Martin Trybus, Professor of European Law and Policy, Director of the Institute for European Law at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham

    Phone: +44 (0)121 414 6330
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