GREEN PURCHASING NETWORK – A Landscape of Practice to Achieve SCP

The International Green Purchasing Network (IGPN) released the report of “GREEN PURCHASING NETWORK – A Landscape of Practice to Achieve SCP”, that focusses on implementing green purchasing and its contribution to sustainable consumption and production.

The report provides an overview of what the Green Purchasing Network is, features case studies of IGPN members’ contribution to green purchasing practices, and describes how the Green Purchasing Networks contributes to the Sustainable Consumption and Production transition within its four focus areas: market, private, business and public level.

This report identifies in which areas the Green Purchasing Network made progress, where it faced challenges, and what lessons were learnt. In the analysis of the applied green purchasing practices, the new report concludes that there are six common characters of importance: “the ground practice, inclusion of diversity, ecolabels as market mechanism tool, criteria support implementation, different approach in private sector, and circularity and innovation in the business sector”. The report closes with four recommendations: “synthesis of ecolabel scheme and green purchasing; advocacy for the accessibility of green products in the private sector; proactive support of the innovation practices in business sector; and deepening of the pilot effect of public green procurement”.

This report aims to bring together the IGPN members existing experiences and share examples of the synergy between environmentally friendly products/services and green purchasing, so as to accelerate knowledge sharing and encourage action on green purchasing.

“The formulation of this report will be an effective element of IGPN activities. It is hoped that this report could bring about fresh and conducive references to all IGPN members and contribute to the implementation of green procurement in each country. With its diversified approaches, efforts will be explored continuously to strengthen the communications and collaborations in the coming future.” states Mr. CHEN Yanping, chair of IGPN.

The intended audience for this report will be procurement officers, purchasers, sustainability coordinators, and other concerned organizations with green purchasing initiatives.