Event

Advancing Environmental Sustainability Goals through Public Procurement and International Trade Policies

Overview

The International Trade Centre (ITC), in collaboration with the World Trade Organization (WTO), is hosting a webinar on Thursday 27 July 2023, from 14:00 - 16:00 CET on 'Advancing Environmental Sustainability Goals Through Public Procurement and International Trade Policies'.

In advance of the COP 28 Climate Change Conference, the ITC, in collaboration with the WTO, is showcasing the role of green public procurement (GPP) as a tool for advancing environmental sustainability goals and creating a growth-conducive business environment for developing country micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Empowering public authorities to employ their purchasing power to procure goods, services and works more sustainably, while supporting MSMEs to participate in and benefit from the procurement process, will facilitate a successful transition to a green and inclusive economy, to the benefit of all citizens. International trade policies and initiatives can serve as an important enabling factor in this process.

Governments are increasingly using their purchasing power as a tool to achieve development objectives and build inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economies. A core objective is to align both public sector buyers and private sector suppliers with environmental goals and values, creating a growth-conducive business environment.

Meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities that arise from GPP will require both the adoption of new domestic policy frameworks by policymakers/governments and adaptation to the new frameworks by the private sector. This can be particularly burdensome for MSMEs, especially in developing countries. International and supranational trade policies and instruments can be leveraged to reshape national frameworks to support sustainability objectives and to the creation of related opportunities for MSMEs.

This webinar will provide an overview of developments on GPP at the multilateral, regional and domestic level, consider the role of specific international trade instruments, assess key priorities for developing countries and MSMEs regarding this topic, consider how to better bring related perspectives into future negotiations and dialogues on GPP, and present the draft toolkit on Green Public Procurement and International Trade Policies for discussion.