WHEN: 9 June 2021 I TIME: 15:00 - 17:00 (Bangkok Time) I Register HERE I Join the meeting on Webex HERE I Watch the event recording here
Green and Sustainable Public Procurement (G/SPP) is a management strategy to support sustainable consumption and production. Due to the sheer size of public expenditure on goods and services it is regarded as an effective way to lower environmental burdens of products and consumption. Public authority’s procurement accounts for 14% of GDP in Europe, 12% of GDP and 29% of total government expenditure in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and up to 30% of GDP in developing countries. There is growing agreement among public authorities that SPP can be used as a strategic instrument to deliver environmental, economic, and social benefits, with a shift from focusing exclusively on the environmental dimension to achieving a balance between all three fundamental pillars of sustainable development. One of the targets under SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production patterns focuses on promoting sustainable public procurement, following national policies and priorities. Therefore, SPP practices’ advancement is recognised as a key strategic component of the global efforts towards achieving more sustainable consumption and production patterns.
As result of the SWITCH-Asia Programme Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting held in December 2020, a series of “Internal thematic cluster consultative and brainstorming meetings” is now well inscribed in the programme as part of SWITCH-Asia activities 2021-mid-2022 and through joint efforts with partner countries and key organisations in the region.
Objective
For the clustered thematic issues focusing on Sustainable/ Green Public Procurement, the objective of the consultation and brainstorming meeting is to strengthen cooperation and partnerships in delivering activities through the three SWITCH-Asia components, involving the Country EU Delegations (EUDs), the National Focal Points (NFPs) within Ministry of partner countries together with SWITCH-Asia implementing Ministry in case different, the Grant projects, and selected regional/ international partners, to ensure cross-border exchange of experiences and larger impact.
Speakers
Alessandra LEPORE, International Cooperation Officer, Green Economy, Sustainable Consumption and Production, European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG-INTPA)
Ms Alessandra is currently covering the position of International Cooperation Officer for Green Economy and Sustainable Consumption and Production within the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission. Alessandra is in charge of the coordination of the SWITCH-Asia for its 24 target countries. She has more than 10 years’ experience in the field of research, innovation and industrial development both in the public and private sectors in Europe and in Asia. She supported the uptake of ‘Smart Specialisation Strategies’ on R&I in several European countries working closer with clusters, SMEs, research centers and universities.
Anna LUPI, Legal and Policy Officer, Public Procurement Unit, DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG-GROW), European Commission
Ms. Anna has been working in DG GROW on public procurement law and policy for 6 years. She is in charge of the Commission’s policy on sustainable public procurement, coordinating awareness-raising initiatives on the topic and the creation of support tools for public buyers. She has also dealt with a number of EU Member States as a desk officer. Prior to joining the Commission, she worked in Brussels on issues related to the EU internal market and to fundamental rights. She holds a law degree from the University of Pisa and an LL.M. in Public International Law from the George Washington University.F
Farid YAKER, Programme Officer, Economic and Trade Policy Unit, Economy Division UNEP/One Planet Network
Mr. Farid has been leading the work of UNEP in the area of Sustainable Public Procurement since 2008. He taught Agricultural economics at the University of Blida, Algeria from 1988 to 1990 before joining the international NGO Enda (Environmental Development Action) after the Rio summit that he attended in 1992. After managing an international programme on the promotion of participatory approaches in the field of urban environment from 1994 to 1999, Farid took the direction of the European office of Enda before joining UNEP in 2008. He holds a master’s degree in Agricultural economics from the University of California at Davis, USA.
Sanjay KUMAR, GPP Expert, General Manager, Ministry of Railways-India and President of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production Board of Trustees
Sanjay Kumar has over two decades of governance and leadership experiences in Public Policy, Procurement and Sustainability. His vision, leadership and dedicated effort has been pivotal for the growth of sustainable purchasing movement in the region. He is currently President of Board of Trustees of Asia-Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP), Bangkok, Thailand and serves in advisory capacity, on Strategic Advisory Committee of Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), Washington, USA, and Steering Committee of UN Environment’s One Planet Network on SPP. He is also VOICE of SPHS (Sustainable Procurement in Health Sector) nominated by Interagency Task Team of 10 United Nations agencies.
Dr. Thumrongrut MUNGCHAROEN, SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility Expert
Dr. Thumrongrut received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, USA. For more than 25 years, he has been involved as an expert in several projects on life cycle assessment, sustainable consumption & production, sustainability indicators, eco-efficiency and circular economy. He is among the key persons who initiated several national projects such as the Thai National Life Cycle Inventory Database, Thai Carbon Footprint labelling scheme, and Thai SCP Network. He is also the president of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP) Foundation. He has published more than 220 scientific papers and books.
Sylvia AGUILAR CAMACHO, Senior Consultant Procurement Advisory Services Procurement Group, UNOPS HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark
Ms. Sylvia Aguilar Camacho is a Senior Consultant Procurement Advisory Services at UNOPS. She is an Industrial Engineer, with a Master in Manufacturing Systems. +20 years of international experience implementing projects on public procurement, promotion of SMEs, waste management, standards and conformity assessment, and policy development for sustainable development. Experienced in projects of international organizations such as UNIDO, UN Environment, UNDP, GIZ, USEPA, IUCN, UNOPS. Experienced in designing integrated, multi-stakeholder approaches for the implementation of projects, through research, training, technical assistance, and other capacity-building approaches, that have led to new regulations on Sustainable Public Procurement in Costa Rica, supported new waste management policy instruments in Central America, and supported the implementation of different topics related to Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
Gian Andrea Paolo GARANCINI, Heraklion Development Agency, Project Manager, SWITCH-Asia MOST Project
Mr. Gian Andrea has worked in South Africa, Egypt and the United States and settled in Brussels in 1994 where he worked for the European Parliament, the Italian Regional Representation Offices and the Presidency of the Council of Ministries of the Italian Government (PORE Mission). In 2008, he moved to Heraklion, Crete where he became President of the local School of European Education, held a weekly TV show on European Affairs and was elected City Councillor in 2014. In 2015, he was nominated Deputy-Mayor for Tourism & Communication, position he held until the end of his mandate in 2019. He is currently Advisor for Internationalization for the Governor of Crete and Project Manager for the Development Agency of Heraklion, General Coordinator of the EU Switch-Asia Project A Model for Sustainable Tourism in Central Asia (MOST).
Wilasinee POONUCHAPHAI - Project Co-Director, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Gmb
Ms. Wilasinee has been working for GIZ since 2005, she was Project Director of the EU funded project on “Sustainable Freight Transport and Logistics in the Mekong Region”, of which the office hub is Bangkok, Thailand. Her expertise is in the areas of environmental and energy management as well as in sustainable development. Currently she is Co-Director of Project ‘SCP Outreach in Asia – The Next Five Countries’ which is financed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The SCP Outreach project supports the development and implementation of eco-labels and sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns, particularly in the field of public procurement, in five Asian developing countries (Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam) with the support of Thailand.
Dr. Prasad MODAK, Expert; Executive President, Environmental Management Centre LLP; Director, Ekonnect Knowledge Foundation
Dr. Modak was a Professor at Centre for Environmental Science & Engineering at IIT Bombay (1984-1994) and later as Professor (Adjunct) at the Center for Technology Alternatives in Rural Areas (CTARA) (2009-2017). He is currently the Executive President of Environmental Management Centre LLP (EMC) and Director of Ekonnect Knowledge Foundation. Dr Modak has worked with almost all key UN, multi-lateral and bi-lateral developmental institutions in the world. Apart from Government of India and various State Governments, his advice is sought by Governments of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Mauritius, Thailand and Vietnam. Dr. Modak is currently member of Indian Resources Panel at Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Member of Task Force on Sustainable Public Procurement at the Ministry of Finance. He has published several books on environmental management.
Loraine GATLABAYAN, Southeast Asia Expert, SWITCH Asia SCP Facilit
Ms Loraine has worked in the past 16 years on international and national projects focused on environment and sustainable development issues in the Asian Region. She did consultancy work with particular focus on SCP and resource efficiency from 2013-2018 in the Asian Development Bank, the EU SWITCH-Asia Regional Policy Support Component managed by the United Nations Environment - Regional Office in Asia and Pacific and the Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production. Prior to this, she worked under the Philippine Government as Division Chief and Chief Science Research Specialist in the Philippine’s Climate Change Commission and in the Office of the Secretary in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. She also led various regional, national and local projects in partnership with civil society groups and the academe, focusing on biosafety, access rights in environmental decision-making, transparency and accountability, and climate change.
Philipp TEPPER, Senior Coordinator, ICLEI's Sustainable Procurement Capacity Centre
For more than 14 years Philipp Tepper works as senior coordinator and expert for ICLEI contributing to Global, European and National programmes, projects and initiatives on Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) and the hub between finance, cities and business. His focus is on developing research and guidance on social responsible public procurement (SRPP), ownership and strategic business development, criteria and tools, innovative approaches in public procurement (pre-procurement, early market engagement, LCC-CO2 tools, supply chain mapping) and opportunities within local sustainable economic development.
Mr. Kirati KOSICHAREON, Executive Vice President, Head of Accounting and Finance Group, Stock Exchange of Thailand
Mr. Kosicharoen oversees both Corporate services Group and Accounting and finance Group at SET. He has 20 years of experience in the stock exchange industry and his current team won multiple awards in the field of property management and green office, including green procurement. Mr. Kosicharoen has been one of the key drivers for the online securities trading volume which has increased from less than 5% to more than 55% of total retails trading volume in Thailand during the past 12 years. He has been leading the marketing & sales team at Settrade.com which has developed the most popular online and mobile security trading solution in the Thai market. In addition, he has managed Information services and the Market access department and successfully developed it into a significant business for SET.
