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Proliferation of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in Asia – the next 5 countries (SCP Outreach)

  • Published on February 19, 2021
In recent years, sustainable public procurement and environmental labelling have become increasingly important in South-eastern Asia. Aided by Thailand, the project supports the development and implementation of environmental labels, as well as sustainable consumption and production patterns in five developing Asian countries i.e. Vietnam, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. It is geared to country-specific needs and focuses on strengthening institutions, specialist training courses, knowledge transfer and integrated solutions at regional level. The project also supports trans-national knowledge sharing events and stakeholder meetings to define core criteria for eco-labelling and Green Public Procurement (GPP) in the ASEAN Economic Community. It also supports the partner institutions in integrating climate-friendly and low-carbon criteria into eco-labels and analyses international best practices in the field of GPP to this end. In 2020, the project completed a status analysis in the implementing countries. The study paid particular attention to framework legislation of sustainable public procurement (SPP), pre-existing eco-labels, capacities of the certification bodies and private sector awareness and skills for production of sustainable products. The project develops methods to identify climate-relevant products and services.Training sessions to raise awareness of key stakeholders will follow in 2021.
The non-existence of recognised labels and standards has been identified as a key barrier to enabling consumers and public administration to make informed decisions when choosing one product or service over another in many countries. Reasons are often the lack of SCP and GPP supporting policies, adequate legal framework and requirements, public awareness, and availability of eco-labelling systems with defined criteria.

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