Each year, 13–20% of global GDP is generated by governments as they purchase goods, works, and services from private companies. These decisions do more than deliver public services: they create predictable demand, influence supply chains, and shape investment in the technologies, industries, and productive capacity that economies will rely on in the future. This role is taking on renewed importance. Faced with geopolitical tensions, trade disruption, and fragile supply chains, governments are strategically engaging their procurement to strengthen domestic industries and build economic resilience. But the environmental implications of these choices are significant. Public procurement is estimated to account for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and investments made in the name of resilience today could lock in carbon-intensive infrastructure and production for decades. Aligning public procurement with climate and environmental priorities is increasingly important to building economies that are both more resilient and fit for a low-carbon future. Drawing on cross-national policy tracking from the Oxford Climate Policy Monitor, and over 60 interviews with procurement officials and experts worldwide, this report sets out how governments are putting sustainable public procurement into practice: greening what they buy, who they buy from, and how they buy it. It was written by the team behind the Oxford initiative for Green Approaches to Public Procurement (OxGAP) project. Read more about OxGAP’s work here.
Authors: Emma Lecavalier, Rosalind Chaston, Betty Cremmins, Kaya Axelsson, Lorena G. Abadia, Eduardo Spano, Scott Twigg, Felippe Vilaça.
