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Overview
Green procurement is one of the key policy initiatives in the "Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal solid Waste (2005-2014)" to encourage waste reduction, recovery and recycling. The Government has been taking the lead to adopt a green procurement policy to provide a sustained market outlet for "green" products. As stated in the 2006/ 07 Policy Address, we encourage the private sector to do its part by incorporating green procurement in their day-to-day operations.
In considering how to implement "green procurement", we can make reference to the following guiding principles:
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creating culture that supports waste reduction and green procurement; |
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taking waste reduction as the primary objective; |
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striking a balance among environment, cost and performance; |
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acquiring and comparing environmental performance information; |
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adopting green product criteria; and |
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influencing market availability |
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Government's Green Procurement Policy
As early as year 2000, the Government amended its procurement regulations to require bureaux and departments to take into account environmental considerations when procuring goods and services. Specifically, bureaux and departments are encouraged to avoid single-use disposable items, and purchase products:
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with improved recyclability, higher recycled content, reduced packaging, greater durability, and greater energy efficiency; |
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that utilize clean technology and/or clean fuels; |
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that result in reduced water consumption; |
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that emit fewer irritating or toxic substances during installation or use; and |
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that result in reduced production of toxic substances, or less toxic substances, upon disposal. |
For items commonly used by bureaux and departments in large quantity, such as recycled paper, office stationery and cleansing supplies, the Government has developed a set of green product specifications. For instance, the recycled / recovered fibre content required for photocopying recycled paper is set at 80%, whereas correction fluid and thinner must be free of ozone-depleting chemicals. Besides, green specifications have been developed for some specific items including vehicles, offset process ink and textile materials. Such specifications have been adopted as mandatory requirements in the Government tenders.
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department operates a voluntary "Energy Efficiency Labeling Scheme"(EELS) which covers 17 types of office equipment and household appliances. Recently, the Government has incorporated the requirement of "energy label" under the EELS as part of tender specifications for photocopying machines, room coolers and refrigerators.
In public works projects, we have made use of recycled materials where technically practicable. For instance, more than 600,000 tones of recycled aggregates have been used for filter, drainage bedding, concrete, road sub-base, stone column, rockfill and paving blocks in over 150 public works contracts, including the construction of Hong Kong Wetland Park.
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[public works]
[recycled brick] |
[aerial view] |
What You Can Do?
While the Government has been proactively purchasing "green" products, the private sector can also help by adopting green procurement as well. You can make reference to the guiding principles above and take steps to develop a set of "green procurement" guidelines, which best suits your business needs. You can also make reference to the "green specifications" for products commonly adopted by the Government, and the "Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme" developed by the EMSD. Should you have any inquiries, you can contact us (enquiry@epd.gov.hk).
Reference
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