There is growing recognition among public authorities that Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) can be a strategic instrument to deliver environmental, economic, and social benefits. By leveraging their purchasing power, governments can boost demand for environmental goods and services, driving sustainable markets from the demand side. Governments from European, OECD and emerging market economies are already implementing such practices. However, several barriers hold back the further uptake including lack of expertise and the misleading perception that sustainable goods and services are costlier.
Fiscal policies can play a role in addressing some of these barriers, for example, special tax provisions can make sustainable goods and services more competitive and affordable. Several countries in Asia are using fiscal incentives to promote SPP, for example: in China, public offices receive price subsidies for procuring low-carbon vehicles while in Thailand and South Korea public institutions receive performance bonuses for reducing environmental damages through procurement.
UN Environment together with the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) have developed a study on Green Public Procurement (GPP) in the Republic of Korea which is one of the world leaders in GPP. The study assesses the economic and environmental impacts of GPP in Korea and compares measurement methodologies on GPP used in Korea and in other leading countries.
