Sustainable public procurement (SPP) is the practice by which government entities include social, environmental, and economic considerations in their purchasing practices in order to promote sustainability in the national market. The Marrakech Task Force on SPP supports the development of SPP policies and their execution as part of the implementation of Sustainable Consumption and Production projects. Lebanon is one of the seven pilot countries for the SPP capacity-building project administered by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on behalf of the Marrakech Task Force on SPP.
Lebanon stands to benefit significantly from the project as its present public procurement policies are not unified and do not formally take into account sustainability aspects. The impact of applying SPP will be considerable as public procurement spending amounts to as much as 12.08% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Changes in public procurement targets and practices can therefore have a transformative effect on the local market, as well as setting an example of good governance.
In order to promote and achieve SPP in Lebanon in accordance with the Government Policy Statement, an Action Plan was prepared under the direction of the Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan, with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and UNEP.
The Plan sets out the objectives, measures, and actions to be adopted and implemented over the next three years. They are grouped under the following five themes: Capacity Building; Policy, Strategy and Communication; Procurement Process; Market Engagement; and Monitoring and Evaluation.
The implementation of the SPP Action Plan relies on leadership from the government and legislators, as well as leaders in procuring entities and effective partnerships between all stakeholders. One of its main achievements will be to improve the awareness of stakeholders and enrich the training of procurement practitioners. Improving communication and cooperation between suppliers and procuring entities, as well as among the procuring entities themselves, are some of the basic measures.