Governments are the largest consumers in an economy. The public sector on average spends 45 per cent to 65 per cent of their budgets on public procurement, which amounts to 13 per cent to 17 per cent of GDPs. If governments make a concerted effort to purchase environmentally- and socially-preferable products and services, their substantial buying power will drive the delivery of sustainable development policies and stimulate markets for sustainable products and services.
In the first half of 2007, IISD, in partnership with The Energy Resource Institute (TERI), India conducted a global review of international and national Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) initiatives. The survey identified four international and 35 national programs on SPP, and reviewed selected regional and bilateral trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties, as well as the national legal frameworks on SPP in Brazil, China, India and the European Union.
IISD welcomes interest from project partners as we leverage our ongoing work to enable more accountable and transparent SPP practices across the world.
