Sustainable Public Procurement: A Knight Guarding the Global Green Recovery in the Post-Pandemic Era?

Abstract

Public procurement is an important way for governments to implement economic recovery plans. Some countries, use sustainable public procurement (SPP) to drive economic recovery while balancing the need for sustainable development. The WTO’s plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), FTAs’ chapter on GP, and other international procurement instruments constitute the legal framework for global SPP. How did these international procurement rules emerge and evolve to date? What policy space do they give governments to engage in SPP? What are the implications of SPP for the global green recovery in the post-pandemic era? Answering these questions, this chapter concludes that while SPP cannot ensure global green recovery in the post-pandemic era, GPA countries can improve their SPP policies to contribute to the green recovery as much as possible.