Multi-sector collaboration is essential to successfully carry out green public procurement (GPP) in Thailand, experts on sustainability told forum on Tuesday.
The forum held by C asean was part of Asean Week 2024, held to celebrate the 57th year of the regional bloc under the theme “Shaping the Future of Sustainable Asean”. The event will run until tomorrow at the C asean Auditorium at CW Tower in Bangkok.
Chuttree Phurat, director of the Green Label and Environmental Label programme at the Thailand Environment Institute, said Thailand has approved a National Action Plan for Green Public Procurement from 2022-27 and started putting it into practice.
She said the plan provides direction to support green public procurement in all sectors including central and local governments, state enterprises, universities and the private sector.
It also encourages the production of green products and has established a mechanism for communication and collaboration between departments working together towards shared green goals, she said.
It is now in the third stage of promoting integration into the National Action Plan by the National Economic and Social Development Council.
Hari Ramalu Ragavan, a principal consultant at Akar Asia Consulting, said that many other Asean countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, are working on green procurement.
He said government sectors must pitch in to ensure the success of green procurement collaboration.