Readout of the Seventh Greening Government Initiative Meeting
GGI Countries Shared Approaches to Greening Public Procurement
Today, representatives of over 70 countries met for the seventh meeting of the Greening Government Initiative (GGI). The meeting focused on how national governments can lead by example to reduce emissions, achieve sustainability goals, and stimulate growth within their economies through green public procurement.
National governments are major purchasers of goods and services and as a result play a significant role in shaping markets, creating jobs, and expanding the use of innovative technologies. Approaches and innovations to reduce emissions, climate risks, and other negative environmental impacts through green public procurement are therefore critical for greening government operations. Countries share common challenges in pursuing sustainable green public procurement, including what products and services to procure, from whom to procure these products and services, and how to procure them. Today, many governments have set ambitious targets for greening their public procurement, including the U.S. Government which has set a target of achieving net-zero emissions from federal procurement no later than 2050.
The meeting featured presentations from France, Lithuania, and Guinea that outlined each country’s approach to advancing green public procurement. Diane Simiu of France’s Ministry of Ecological Transition opened the session with a high-level summary of the results achieved over the past three years from France’s ambitious efforts towards a greener government. Alexandra Lamotte, also of France’s Ministry of Ecological Transition, followed with a presentation focused on how France is advancing green public procurement through its National Plan for Sustainable Procurement, which provides tools and resources to government purchasers to help procure sustainable products. Karolis Kinčius and Paulius Serapinas of Lithuania’s Ministry of Environment presented an overview of how Lithuania defines green public procurement, establishes product groups for which the minimum environmental criteria are set, and builds the capacity across the government to procure green products. Lastly, Adama Diabate of Guinea’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development discussed how Guinea is approaching green public procurement throughout its various Ministries.
GGI will hold its eighth meeting in June 2023, which will focus on the circular economy and achieving zero waste in government operations.
About the Greening Government Initiative
Launched by the Governments of the United States and Canada in April 2021, the Greening Government Initiative (GGI) is a first-of-its-kind initiative that enables countries to exchange information, promote innovation, and share best practices to support global efforts to green national government operations and meet Paris Agreement commitments on climate change. To date, 48 countries joined the initiative. For more information about the Greening Government Initiative, visit www.sustainability.gov/ggi.
About the U.S. Federal Sustainability Plan
In December 2021, President Biden charged the U.S. Federal Government to lead by example by using its scale and procurement power to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Through Executive Order 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability, and President Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan, Federal infrastructure will be transitioned to zero-emission vehicles and energy efficient buildings, all powered by carbon pollution-free electricity. The Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, which is a part of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is leading the implementation of the executive action and plan. For more information about the Federal Sustainability Plan, visit www.sustainability.gov/plan.
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