Latvia commits to developing green public procurement procedures. The procedures will apply to specific product groups including office paper, office IT equipment, office furniture, food and catering services, cleaning products and services, indoor lighting, traffic signals and several other voluntary product groups. The country also commits to developing a “calculator” of life-cycle costs for energy consuming products groups. This calculator will help develop guidelines of for green procurement. Under this commitment, Latvia will prepare and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers annual reports on the implementation of green public procurement. Latvia will also organise methodological workshops and trainings for state and local governments. The commitment also includes the implementation of awareness-raising activities for additional stakeholders on green procurement and green public procurement. The commitment will result in a more efficient use of resources, incentives for sustainable production and consumption, fueling the transition towards sustainable production and consumption. Sustainable “green” employment as a result of the commitment will provide career opportunities for new specialists and entrepreneurs.
The commitment falls under focus areas 4 of the Batumi Initiative to shift consumer behaviours towards sustainable production patterns.
Implementing partners include Ministry of Finance, Procurement Monitoring Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Economics, and State Regional Development Agency.
The commitment is relevant to SDGs 9 and 12.