What Is a Green Workplace?

Green government procurement means that, while improving the quality and efficiency of procurement, government procurement should take into account the environmental protection effects of government procurement, take a series of policy measures such as priority procurement and prohibition of procurement, and directly drive enterprises. The production, investment and sales activities are conducive to the realization of environmental protection goals. ^[1]

Green government procurement

From a global perspective, government procurement in various countries

The methods of promoting green government procurement in various countries can be roughly divided into two modes: one is to set the policy direction of the national government to guide the next-level government in procurement. For example, in France, the central management authority formulates procurement plans and implements them at the grassroots level; in Denmark and Japan, national policies for sustainable procurement are introduced. The other is to guide local governments and non-governmental organizations and groups to promote green procurement, which is guided by the voluntary green procurement actions of local groups. The government is only in the position of counselling and assistance. For example, the Swiss Federal Building Organisation Meeting (KBOB), which is mainly involved with civil society, is responsible for coordinating procurement in the construction industry.

In addition, the procurement mechanisms of different countries are also different, such as centralized procurement represented by the United Kingdom and independent procurement represented by Germany. The former is implemented by a dedicated procurement department to implement government green procurement, or several government departments implement joint procurement to obtain The price advantage of bulk procurement; the latter is more flexible and competitive in selecting products through independent procurement by local governments at all levels. According to the Integrated Product Policy promulgated by the European Commission in 2001

Green government procurement provides green information

Provide buyers with green information to increase their awareness of green procurement

Frequently hold various green procurement workshops, workshops, lectures and other activities for government procurement related personnel to increase understanding of relevant laws and regulations such as the government procurement law and green product procurement methods, learn the basic knowledge of products' environmental impact, and practice green Procurement of technical procedures and blood. Although this education and training is mainly aimed at full-time purchasers, it should also be gradually targeted at full-time purchasers, but it should also be gradually popularized to those who are qualified for small purchases. In countries that implement environmental labeling systems, such as Denmark, Japan, Canada, and other governments, governments are generally recommended to use environmental labels as a criterion for selecting green products. However, many environmental protection regulations and products include limited product items. A detailed product instruction manual was introduced to guide purchasers in product selection, and Norway allowed purchasers to refer to similar product specifications equivalent to environmental labels.

Comprehensive consideration of green government procurement

Consider the overall cost of the green product life cycle when purchasing and awarding bids

Because green products often struggle to compete with traditional products in government procurement processes because of price factors, the US federal government has stipulated that if designated project products with the same function (such as recycled copy paper) must purchase the designated recycled (green) products first. In the absence of such a law, the European Union allows the most economic value criterion other than the lowest price to be used as the criterion for government procurement, which allows the total cost of the green product life cycle to be included in the assessment basis.

Green government procurement regulations

Develop regulations that encourage green procurement to create an enabling environment

In the 21st century, when free trade prevails, governments must consider whether it will cause obstacles to free trade when introducing and implementing any laws and regulations on products. Because government procurement in developed countries is subject to the WTO and domestic government procurement laws, government procurement personnel cannot arbitrarily make different green procurement behaviors than in the past. For example, although the EU Government Procurement Directive allows countries to incorporate environmental considerations into the technical specifications of procurement tenders and allows the most valuable method to award bids, these meaning terms have not been directly incorporated into government procurement provisions. Many concerns. The way to overcome the obstacles is to put forward detailed procurement guidelines and guiding model bidding specifications. For example, the British government has proposed various green procurement documents, detailing what environmental factors are included in the bidding specifications by procurement staff, avoiding proposing indicators that can cause controversy, and make clear explanations of bidder qualifications and decision criteria. This information can assist procurement personnel in implementing green procurement in accordance with complex procurement regulations.

Green government procurement strengthens training and management

Strengthen education and training and implement environmental management system

The use of government procurement, whether it is controlled by the central government or by each unit, will directly affect green implementation. Based on the experience of the US government, green procurement can be implemented more effectively through the central procurement mechanism. For example, if the federal agency purchases photocopying paper and does not specify the use of recycled paper, the public service deployment (GSA) responsible for procurement can use the direct replacement policy to purchase recycled paper products to replace it. A similar implementation method is only possible under a centralized management procurement method, while centralized procurement has the benefits of easy implementation of education and training and performance tracking.

Green government procurement creates green product market

Green products have been questioned about the environmental quality of their products and the stability of the supply chain. Either the lack of corresponding green products in related procurement projects or the supply is not stable enough. The reason for this phenomenon is that the market demand for products is related. Due to the lack of a stable product market, the supply will be unstable. To overcome this obstacle, the green product market can only be created by the government agencies in advance to formulate the quantity of green product procurement, publicize it in advance through the government procurement and bidding information disclosure system, and implement it according to the plan.

As an important part of global green consumption activities, the government green procurement plan has attracted attention from all walks of life due to its huge procurement plan and outstanding demonstration significance. As with promoting green behavior for the average consumer, government agencies have encountered many obstacles in promoting green procurement. Among them, the resistance of administrative regulations and government organization structure is particularly prominent. In the 21st century, all countries have targeted the elimination of these unfavorable factors by enacting laws and regulations encouraging green procurement, implementing education and training, and implementing environmental management systems. With the changes in the goals and contents of green procurement in various governments, government procurement The way is constantly improving and updating.