Green Public Procurement in Bhutan: Success Story from Asia

Abstract

Bhutan is a developing country in Asia with a strong commitment to environment and sustainability. While most of the developing world is still trying to explore the opportunities to formulate the Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) policies and legislation, Bhutan has successfully implemented the Green Public Procurement in Bhutan (GPP Bhutan) project. The three-year project started in 2014 and ended in June 2017. It has conducted research, trained public procurers, sensitized suppliers, and piloted green public procurement projects to introduce and implement green procurement in the country. This chapter aims to discuss how the government of Bhutan has embraced the value of green public procurement (GPP) and is setting an example for other countries of how to leverage the power of the public purse to advance sustainable development. The chapter presents the success story of Bhutan from the perspective of its implementation approaches. The Bhutan strategy encompasses all spheres of national policies in line with the sustainable or green public procurement (GPP)—whereby government authorities seek to procure goods, services, and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle, as well as with an increased positive social impact—that have the potential to drive sustainable growth in Bhutan. The chapter also at places points to Bhutan's various national policies and strategies and illustrates some examples and experiences that other emerging countries can learn from.