On 2 November 2006, International Green Purchasing Network (IGPN) , in association
with Enterprise Promotion Centres (EPC) and co-organised by Asian Productivity Organization (APO), held ‘International Green Purchasing Workshop in Singapore’ as part of the Eco-Products International Fair 2006 (EPIF 2006) at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre in Singapore. The speakers and the audience came from Singapore and a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, India and Sweden. The objectives of the workshop were to introduce the efforts and the significance of Green Purchasing / Green Public Procurement to Singapore’s public and private sectors and to encourage Singapore to adopt the concept and the practice as part of the policy to address the environmental issues.
Mr Michael Ho, Vice-Chairman of the EPIF2006 Steering Committee and Chairman of Waste Management & Recycling Association of Singapore, opened the workshop with the welcome speech. It was followed by a keynote speech from Prof Ryoichi Yamamoto, Chair of IGPN and Professor of the Tokyo University, on Green Purchasing challenges on the global level and in the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr Peter Nohrstedt, of Swedish Environmental Management Council (SEMC), presented the latest EU perspective on Green Purchasing and the environmental labels administered in the EU. After the break, Mr Vincent Teo, of Singapore’s National Environment Agency, presented Singapore’s Green Efforts. Mr Tao’s speech was followed by the presentation by Mr Hiroyuki Sato, of Japan’s Green Purchasing Network, on the efforts to promote Green Purchasing and the achievements in Japan.
The first speaker in the afternoon session was Mr Hideki Onizaki, of Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, who explained in details Japan’s so-called Green Purchasing law and its future plans. The next speaker was Mr Tusyoshi Horinouchi, of NEC Corporation. Mr Horinouchi presented the company’s Green Purchasing/Procurement programme and expectations to the Asia-Pacific Region. Then Mr Akira Kataoka, of IGPN, explained the history of Green Public Procurement around the world and a number of countries around the world adopted Green Purchasing programmes. Lastly, Mr Mandar Parasnis, of E2KM Group in India, demonstrated the Green Purchasing & Green Public Procurement Starter kit to the audience.
After the break, the floor was opened for the panel discussions, and how the countries in the Asia-Pacific region could work together to address the increasing environmental issues was discussed.
Lastly Mr Hiromi Mori, of IGPN, summarised all the topics presented and discussed at the workshop and thanked the audience and the speakers for the participation.
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