Uruguay launches National Policy on Sustainable Public Procurement

The National Procurement Agency of Uruguay has taken the next step in implementing its National Policy on Sustainable Public Procurement with the development of a digital prioritisation tool. The Preference Scheme Simulator identifies which sectors or types of companies the government should prioritise in the public procurement market.

The Uruguay National Policy on Sustainable Public Procurement was developed in 2018, with the financial support of the 10YFP Trust Fund and the technical support of UNOPS Uruguay and the UN Environment Programme.

Towards a Sustainable Public Procurement System in Uruguay (10YFP Trust Fund Project)

Through this initiative, the Procurement Agency of the State of Uruguay aims to align the public procurement policy with the government program, transforming the public procurement system into a promoter of sustainable development, promoting the production of sustainable goods and services.

The general objective is to transform Uruguay's Public Procurement System into a promoter for sustainable development, promoting the production of sustainable goods and services and a more efficient and sustainable consumption of the public sector. This will be achieved through the following specific objectives:

• Design and Implement a National Policy for Sustainable Public Procurement and strengthen the existing legal framework to fully incorporate sustainability criteria in public procurement.
• Develop a set of tools, guides and documents, based on sustainable criteria and the life cycle approach for products and services, to be implemented in the Public Procurement System of Uruguay.
• Strengthen the capacity of public buyers and national suppliers for an optimal incorporation of sustainability criteria into their activities.
• Design and implement a monitoring system, which can be used beyond the duration of the project, to control compliance with sustainability standards.

Sustainable Public Procurement

The One Planet Network Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP)'s vision is a world in which environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainability are embedded in public procurement policies strategies, processes and practices while promoting good governance and integrity in public procurement. The programme is a voluntary global multi-stakeholder partnership in which various parties - governmental, non-governmental, public and private, agree to work together in a systematic way with the aim to promote and accelerate the implementation of sustainable public procurement globally as a way to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Read more about the One Planet network Sustainable Public Procurement: https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/sustainable-public-procurement

Unsplash - Chris Slupski