Sustainable Public Procurement

The UN Environment Programme has been actively promoting Sustainable Public Procurement at global, national and regional levels since 2005. Therefore, the Indian Government launched a new product listing of Green Room Air Conditioners in its e-Marketplace under SSP.

This article discusses every essential detail on Sustainable Public Procurement for UPSC and further national and state-level examinations.

What is Sustainable Public Procurement?

It is a process through which public officials and authorities attempt to achieve an appropriate balance among the 3 pillars of sustainable development. These 3 economic, social and environmental pillars are called Triple Bottom Line. Alongside, public sectors must meet their requirement for goods, services and works and utilise them to generate benefits without impacting the environment negatively.

History of Sustainable Public Procurement of UNEP

UN Environmental Program has been implementing SSP since 2005. Over the course, SSP has evolved gradually but significantly. Below is a brief discussion on its global promotions:

• 2009 to 2012 has been a period of methodological development of SSP to implement it.
• UNEP tested the first methodology in 7 countries- Lebanon, Colombia, Tunisia, Uruguay, Mauritius, Chile and Costa Rica.
• This methodology was revised in 2012 following the lessons from the pilot phase. In addition, it became the Guidelines of UNEP SPP Implementation.
• 2013 to 2017 was a phase of implementing the revised SPP methodology in 12 different countries.
• These 12 countries were Morocco, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Mauritius, Vietnam, Mongolia and Cote d’Ivoire. They got support to implement and develop SPP policies through an EU-funded project.
• Another EU-funded project, “Greening Economies in European Union’s Eastern Neighbourhood” assisted in successfully implementing SPP policies in Moldova and Ukraine.
• In addition, UN Environmental Program published 2 global reviews for SPP in 2013 and 2017 to evaluate its state worldwide.
• UNEP assisted the One Planet SPP program’s initiation in 2014, and since then, it has been co-managing this program.

Also, refer to the following UPSC Syllabus related links for IAS exam preparation:

Need of Sustainable Public Procurement in India

India’s 13^thFinance Commission emphasised the requirement to grow with lower resource and environmental footprints in future. Therefore, Government mandates to attain goods and services by Departments and Ministries of Central Government for availability on GeM.

Below are some needs to implement the SPP policies in India:

• The expense of public acquirement in India is almost 15 to 20% of the country’s GDP. Implementation of SPP policies to this great quantity of Government procurement will accompany India’s climate policy objectives.
• It will help Government buyers achieve financial benefits along with meeting ever changing environmental challenges by adopting a circular economy.

That is all for the vital information on Sustainable Public Procurement for UPSC and examinations with similar syllabi. Aspirants can follow this article to prepare notes that can help them in crucial competitive exams.

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