home
> News
> News Archives
News Archives
September 24, 2020
The International Green Purchasing Network invites you to share your experience and examples to help identify lessons learned and good practices on the synergized between environment friendly products/services and green purchasing including those implemented through labels or purchasing network in your country or area.
The practices will be collected and analyzed, aiming to identify the gaps, needs and realities, the characters of difference green purchasing stage, comparison on each stage and summarize progress, challenge and way forward. The results of this exercise will be compiled and edited by the IGPN Secretariat and opened on line by the IGPN website or the UNEP One Planet network SPP program website.
To make your contributions as relevant as possible, we would like to invite you to provide any practices which promote the development of environmentally friendly products/service and green purchasing including but not limit to the new criteria, guideline, method, stakeholder meeting, or initiatives in late 1-2 years which focus on:
--Environmentally friendly products/services: ecolabels, green labels or sustainable labels etc.;
--Innovation practice in: business mode; networking operation; green finance etc.;
--Green purchasing in: policy, action plan or implementation etc.
The timeline will be as follows:
--Submissions: 30th November, 2020.
--Compiled for discussion: 31st January, 2021.
--Report and Publish on IGPN website: 31st March,2021
Please use the submission template to share your examples and experiences.
You can upload the completed form below or send it via email to igpn.secretariat@igpn.org.
Download file
...continue to read
category : Topics
September 22, 2020
China Environmental United Certification Center (CEC) held briefing environmental labelling government procurement webinar on July 17th.
A series of newly issued rules and regulations by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) were given in-depth interpretation during the webinar, including , , and etc. Meanwhile, the practice by adopting china environmental labelling products in the procurement bidding stage of local government procurement also introduced.
More than 100 representatives from manufacturing enterprises attended the webinar.
...continue to read
category : Topics
September 17, 2020
[Green Council] The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners published the “2020 Report to the Nations” which estimated organizations lose 5% of revenue to fraud and average loss per case was US$1.5M. To enhance the knowledge and skills of the members of the Green Council’s Sustainable Procurement Charter in reducing the risks of procurement fraud, we organised a webinar in June. Three procurement professionals from different industries were invited to share their experience and best practices in prevention of procurement fraud and corruption. About 100 participants attended this event.
Learn more at Green Council news room.
...continue to read
category : Topics
September 11, 2020
Earth Overshoot Day, calculated by the Global Footprint Network, marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services each year exceeds what the Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2020 this date was August 22nd.
In the words of UNEP Executive Director Inger Anderson, “this date serves as a reminder that our relentless consumption of natural resources has exceeded what our planet can regenerate this year. But together, we can #BuildBackBetter - smarter, more inclusive & sustainable than before.”
Learn more at:Overshoot website
...continue to read
category : Topics
September 11, 2020
The UN selected SDG 12 as its goal of the month in August 2020, publishing a deep dive article on this transversal SDG which is at the heart of the One Planet network.
This included discussion of the COVID-19 health crisis on progress towards SDG 12, in particular around challenges regarding the uptick of waste - plastic waste in particular - that is being generated.
The article also looks at SCP from the perspective of technology – including mobile apps and e-waste – as well as food security.
Learn more at: One planet network website
...continue to read
category : Topics
September 7, 2020
IGPN launched in 2005 to promote Green Purchasing around the globe with all stakeholders, such as international organizations, businesses, governmental organizations, local authorities and NGOs, who take the initiative in implementing Green Purchasing.
The objectives for IGPN is established are:(a) Promote globally the development of environmentally friendly products and services and Green Purchasing activities;(b) Share information and knowhow on Green Purchasing and environmentally friendly products and services internationally;(c) Harmonize the efforts of Green Purchasing and the development of environmentally friendly products and services from a global viewpoint.
Become a Partner of the International Green Purchasing Network（IGPN）to share, scale-up and replicate your work and showcase your contribution to International Green Purchasing development.
Please note the IGPN now is open to all organizations agreeing with the objectives that are interested in joining an active implementing and a collaborative platform supporting the implementation of objectives.
We ask new applicants to download the document below, fill it in, preferably by computer, and send it to: igpn.secretariat@igpn.org.
IGPN Secretariat
Partnership application form:Download file
...continue to read
category : Topics
September 7, 2020
Public procurement has been recognized as key to the global effort for sustainability, important enough to have a specific target within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, SDG target 12.7: “Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities”
How is looks like in Asia pacific? Four news update related Sustainable/Green public procurement in Asia pacific are as follows:
1. Thailand steps up with new policy to promote environmentally-friendly products and services
[August 6, 2020]-Switch Asia-The recent National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP) 2017-2021, which is built on the 9th-11th NESDP and His Majesty's "Sufficiency Economy" philosophy, provides a policy framework for identifying strategic directions concerning Thailand's sustainable social and economic development within a healthy environment. Key strategies in the 12th NESDP stress the following areas:
-Creating a justice society and reducing social inequality;
-Human capacity promotion and development;
-Strengthening Thailand's economic potential sustainability and enhancing Thailand's competitive edge;
-Promoting sustainable consumption and production (SCP);
-Maintaining domestic security and promoting good governance.
The number of green certification schemes for product and services in Thailand established by various organisations has been growing. Some of them are recognised by the government's green procurement programme such as Thai Green Label, Carbon Footprint, Energy saving label, CoolMode, Green Leaf, and Green Hotel. The private sector also has its certification schemes for environmentally-friendly products/material such as SCG Eco-Value, Green for Life, and Green Heart.
Learn more at:Switch Asia website
2. New initiative launched in Indonesia to accelerate shift to Green/ Sustainable Public Procurement
[August 13, 2020]-Switch Asia-Over the past decade, Indonesia has played an active role in mainstreaming Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) both in policies and implementation, accelerating and strengthening its Green/Sustainable Public Procurement (G/SPP) system.
To attain the SCP and G/SPP objectives outlined in the Indonesian National Medium-term Plan and the G/SPP Roadmap, the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility and GIZ Advance SCP are supporting the Ministry of Environment and Forestry through the project “Enhancing SCP through the implementation of G/SPP and the preparation of a long-term action plan for G/SPP in Indonesia.” A market readiness analysis will be prepared and G/SPP Plans for two pilot sectors, namely, wooden furniture and paper industries, are expected to be developed.
This Project was launched on 24 July 2020 and 25 participants from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the National Procurement Agency (LKPP), the Paper Industry Association, the Furniture Industry Association, SWITCH-Asia Experts, GIZ Advance SCP, and the EU Delegation to Indonesia attended the meeting.
Learn more at：Switch Asia Website
3. Boosting Sustainable and Green Public Procurement
[June26,2020]-Switch Asia- Public agencies around the world have realized that public procurement is not a mere administrative procedure but a powerful instrument that can be leveraged to achieve the sustainability goals of the organization.
This strategic use of public procurement has been recognized as key to the global effort for sustainability, important enough to have a specific target within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, SDG target 12.7: “Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities”.
To address that demand, SWITCH-Asia RPAC has developed the report “Monitoring Implementation and Estimating the Benefits of Sustainable/Green Public Procurement in Northeast and Southeast Asia”. The document has been jointly developed with Ecoinstitut SCCL and presents the approaches of several central governments in the region (i.e. China, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Thailand) in order to show that setting up monitoring and evaluating systems for GPP and/or SPP is possible and beneficial.
Hopefully this publication will encourage countries in Asia to improve and/or set up such systems to support their national GPP or SPP policies and the global reporting of SGD indicator 12.7.1. "Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans".
Learn more at: Switch Asia Website
4. China boosting Sustainable Consumption in times of pandemic
[June17,2020]-Switch Asia-As people become more interested in healthy and environmentally sound products, reliable consumer information tools, such as eco-labelling, will accelerate sustainable consumption and production patterns. Drastic lifestyle changes due to the outbreak, such as increased online food delivery and online shopping with more packaging waste, have forced China to explore how to maintain the ongoing efforts for boosting sustainable consumption using these tools.
The China Environmental United Certification Center (CEC), as a third-party certification organization, developed and conducted remote inspection, in addition to the instruments they usually employ, to ensure that products meet the criteria for eco-labels appropriately and in a timely manner during the pandemic. Once a product is eco-labelled, it is given priority by Chinese government agencies using green public procurement and therefore contributes to foster this kind of public procurement in China.
This is a great example about how we can use the current COVID-19 scenario to “build back better”. But China's extensive efforts to achieve an ecological transition in the production and consumption sectors are not new and have been increasing over the past decade. In fact, green and low-carbon consumption has been incorporated into the philosophy of China's Ecological Civilization as one of the key pathways to green development.
Learn more at:Switsh Asia Website
...continue to read
category : Topics
