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June 2, 2026
Why This Course Matters?
The built environment is at the heart of the climate crisis, accounting for 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of global resource use. With half of the buildings expected to exist in 2050 not yet built, there is an urgent need to rethink how we design and manage our infrastructure.
Governments spend roughly 13% of global GDP on procurement, providing a massive lever to shift markets toward near-zero-emission, circular, and resilient solutions. This course empowers you to turn high-level sustainability goals into concrete procurement decisions.
What You Will Learn?
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
-Navigate the Global Context: Understand the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the built environment.
-Master the Global Framework for Action: Harnessing sustainable and circular public procurement to drive demand for a near-zero and resilient built environment: Apply the high-level principles and priority actions for implementing circularity across the buildings and construction value chain.
-Apply Practical Tools: Learn to use Whole Life Costing (WLC), ecolabels, and performance-based specifications.
-Identify Enabling Conditions: Explore the policies, financing, and capacity-building needed for procurement success.
-Monitor Impact: Implement frameworks to track progress against SDG 12.7.1 and other national commitments.
Course Features
Duration: Approximately 10 hours of self-paced learning.
-Interactive Content: Includes videos, case studies, and open-ended reflection tasks.
-Expert Backed: Developed by UNEP with IISD as technical partner, peer-reviewed by global experts from UNOPS, ICLEI, OECD, CEC China (IGPN Secretariat), C40, Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, ITC ILO, Impacti, SKAO and Western Cape Government. And pilot-tested by users in Argentina, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, Somalia, South Africa, and USA.
-Certification: Earn a Certificate of Completion by passing module quizzes with a score of 70% or higher.
Who Should Join?
While designed for public procurement officers and policymakers, this course is also highly relevant for:
-Technical officials and oversight bodies.
-Private sector suppliers and industry associations.
-Civil society actors and training providers.
-Prerequisites: Introductory level knowledge of procurement is recommended
Join the Course by register at weLearn platform.
More details at UNEP One Planet Network website.
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June 1, 2026
A new technical brief developed jointly by the Secretariat for the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP) and the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions is out now!
Entitled 'Synergies between circularity, life-cycle approaches and the objectives of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions' provides insights on co-benefits on synergies between circularity, life-cycle approaches and the objectives of the Conventions.
Discover:
- Why transition to a circular economy in the context of chemical and waste pollution
- Circular economy and life-cycle approaches as recognized in international decisions
- Co-benefits of circular economy approaches and issues to be managed
- How implementing the objectives of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions contributes to achieving a circular economy
- Policy interventions that can advance both the objectives of the Conventions and circularity
- Relevant work of the 10YFP Secretariat and the One Planet Network in advancing these objectives.
More details at: One Planet Network News Center.
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May 18, 2026
This fiscal year, 2026, marks 30th anniversary of GPN Japan. Since our founding, our membership has grown from 73 organizations to approximately 1,300 today (including companies, local governments, and private organizations). In addition to publishing and disseminating environmental information on approximately 13,000 products through “Eco-products Database”, we have now held “Green Purchasing Award” 26 times, which recognizes innovative initiatives.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the warm messages of congratulations we have received from IGPN Secretariat and IGPN members around the world.
On February 10, 2026, we held a symposium to commemorate our 30th anniversary. Attention of a society is focusing on the role of “procurement” as one approach to solving the challenges on sustainability, as the sustainability expected of companies and organizations continues to deepen. We held this event as an opportunity to cultivate collaboration and co-creation among industry, government, academia, and the public and to aim for the next level of sustainability looking ahead the next decade. We welcomed over 200 participants across Japan.
In the keynote address, the speaker provided an outlook for the future based on sustainability trends over the past decade. In the subsequent panel discussion, experts in the circular economy, regional finance, supplier engagement, sustainability management, and the Green Transformation (GX) shared specific case studies, insights, and key concepts aimed at achieving carbon neutrality. In addition, participants also contributed to the discussion by responding to an online survey during the panel discussion, we were able to discuss together in the venue.
Following the symposium, we held a networking reception to facilitate interaction among participants. GPN Japan will continue to provide the latest information on sustainability, while also planning and implementing initiatives that enable our members to participate in our activities and build their new networks.
More details please access the program of the event from the JPN Japan website here (Japanese).
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May 6, 2026
The textile industry is one of the sectors with the greatest environmental and social impacts globally, with China accounting for a significant share in both the production and consumption stages of the value chain.
This case study report is an outcome of the project “Sustainability in the textile value chain, promoting Ecolabel and Sustainable Public procurement”, implemented by China Environmental United Certification Center (CEC), which is affiliated with the Environmental Development Center (EDC) under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China. The project adopted a value chain analysis approach and a life cycle assessment (LCA) concept to develop the Ecological Textile Technical Specifications, systematically integrating criteria on climate change, biodiversity, pollution control, and social impacts. The project organized multiple promotion activities for standard interpretation and the adoption of sustainable procurement, and conducted pilot assessments in three well-known Chinese textile enterprises. These efforts have effectively advanced the green and low-carbon transformation of China’s textile enterprises.
The activities were supported by the EcoAdvance project, a collaborative effort between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), GIZ, and Öko-Institut, receiving financial support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
Download the report at here.
More details at One Planet Network knowledge center.
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April 20, 2026
A new collaboration opportunity under the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Business Acceleration Services aims to strengthen global innovation procurement. Public buyers outside the European Union seeking cutting-edge solutions can now connect directly with over 6,000 innovative start-ups, covering key sectors such as the green transition, health and advanced digital technologies.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) is backing Europe’s most innovative and disruptive deep tech startups and SMEs, through the SPIN4EIC project. Supported by ICLEI Europe, the initiative is dedicated to enhancing innovators’ability to access procurement markets both in Europe and worldwide through training, matchmaking, and free hands-on assistance. As part of its work in SPIN4EIC, ICLEI is supporting EIC-backed innovators to access global procurement opportunities. Collaboration with the global network allows the identification of possible tender opportunities to procure innovative solutions worldwide.
The initiative has already demonstrated impact through collaborations with global partners, including:
EIC-backed AquaB Nanobubble Innovations Ltd, a deep-tech company that delivers electrostriction-based nanobubble solutions for oil and water treatment, recently signed a landmark commercial agreement with Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest energy companies. Read the full Success Story!
Public buyers interested in sharing tender notices and/or information on relevant platforms where tender opportunities are published, and in connecting directly with innovative start-ups to address their needs, are invited to contact the ICLEI Europe procurement team (procurement@iclei.org) for an introductory meeting.
More details at ICLEI newsbit.
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April 13, 2026
With the publication of its first Recommendation, the Circular and Fair ICT Pact takes a further step in strengthening and harmonising sustainable ICT procurement. Building on years of collaboration and shared practical experience, this Recommendation translates collective insight into focused, implementation-oriented guidance. The first Recommendation, Leveraging Environmental Product Declarations to Improve Scope 3 Emissions Reporting in ICT Procurement, addresses a structural challenge in public sector climate action: the quality of Scope 3 emissions data linked to purchased ICT hardware.
For most public organisations, Scope 3 emissions represent the largest share of their carbon footprint. In ICT, upstream emissions associated with production can be significantly higher than emissions from the use phase. Yet many organisations continue to rely on spend-based calculation methods. While these provide an initial overview, they do not reflect the actual carbon performance of specific products and therefore limit the precision of reporting and reduction strategies.
The Recommendation calls on procuring organisations to require suppliers to provide third party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for ICT hardware. EPDs are standardised documents based on life cycle assessments and independently verified under recognised international standards. They provide transparent data on environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions expressed as CO₂ equivalents, across the full product lifecycle.
Embedding EPD requirements at tender stage, and verifying them during contract management, strengthens the quality of Scope 3 data used for monitoring and reporting. It also increases transparency in the ICT supply chain and encourages manufacturers to measure and disclose product level environmental impacts.
CFIT Recommendations are developed by and for CFIT participants. They consolidate shared experience into harmonised guidance across the procurement cycle, supporting public organizations in using procurement as a lever for circularity, fairness, and climate action.
The full Recommendation is available at the CFIT website.
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April 7, 2026
The "Alibaba 'Scope 3+' Avoided Emissions Implementation Guidelines" was officially released lately, with the technical support provided by the China Environmental United Certification Center (CEC) throughout the entire process.
The guidelines systematically elaborate on the concept, boundaries, classification framework, and implementation principles of "Scope 3+" emissions, provide practical pathways for scientific accounting, digital management, professional verification, ecosystem collaboration, and disclosure.
Over the past five years, CEC worked closely with Alibaba, jointly advancing the practice and development of "Scope 3+" avoided emissions, actively participated in international standard-setting processes, particularly in the "Guidelines for Avoided Emissions 2.0" released by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the exploration of impact accounting for “GHG Protocol”. In the meantime, both committed to continuously promoting pilot experiences from China, helping to establish avoided emissions as a credible and universally applicable narrative language for climate performance, and integrating it into global climate governance.
More details at CEC news center.
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March 30, 2026
To boost the printing consumables industry’s commitment to sustainability, China Environmental United Certification Center (CEC), launched the project of “Green Supply Chain Improvement Study for the Printing Consumables Industry” in June 2025, with support from the “Green Printing Compaign for Zero-Waste Cities” initiated by Taotian Group’s 3C Digital Sector, Alibaba Philanthropy, and the Beijing Entrepreneurs’ Foundation for Environmental Protection. The project aims to steer the industry toward eco-friendly procurement, pushing upstream suppliers to adopt greener practices and strengthening the supply chain against global trade and national environmental issues.
<Green and low-carbon procurement guide for the printing consumables industry>, a key project outcome, was formally released by the project team, in collaboration with Zhuhai Printing Consumables Industry Association, at a training workshop focused on boosting green supply chain capabilities lately. Tailored to the specific needs and capabilities of printing consumables manufacturers and their supply chain partners including producers of toner cartridges, ink cartridges, ribbons, raw materials, and components, the Guide built on the core principles of “proactive accountability and continuous improvement”, emphasizes on practical, company-specific solutions, steers businesses toward building sustainable partnerships with suppliers and positioning green procurement as a vital pillar of regulatory compliance and competitive advantage. The Guide provides clear benchmarks for key areas like eco-friendly materials, product design, and supplier environmental management, offering a roadmap to embed sustainability into procurement. It advises companies to set green standards, assess suppliers’ environmental performance, prioritize renewable materials and recyclable designs, and reduce packaging—ensuring low-carbon goals are woven into every stage of procurement.
More details at CEC website.
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March 23, 2026
Procura+ participant Las Rozas de Madrid is seeking to transform its innovation policy, transitioning from a Smart City approach to an Intelligent Community model. In doing so, they will change their relationship with suppliers, moving away from a business-as-usual approach.
The city’s new approach will have a stronger focus on sustainability and innovation, requiring suppliers to achieve a 5% annual reduction in CO2 emissions through innovative solutions. In addition, suppliers will be obligated to comply with a dedicated and compulsory chapter on innovation clauses.
With this policy, the municipality would like to create an open innovation programme, where big contractors, through the innovation clauses, can include smaller actors and SMEs into the contract. Potentially this approach could also make it easier to engage with international innovative start-ups who are currently unable to access the complicated Spanish procurement bureaucracy.
Las Rozas de Madrid has developed a shared guidance to support other municipalities in replicating their innovative procurement model. The document can be found here. More information about the municipality’s work can be found here.
Learn more at ICLEI sustainable procurement platform.
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