Scaling Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP): Ecolabelling and Green Public Procurement (GPP) for a Low-Carbon Pathway in ASEAN (Scaling SCP)

• The project began on 1 January 2022.
• Various preliminary studies have been published at supra-regional level and disseminated through webinars.
• In August 2022, the topics of product longevity, the EU's Sustainable Products Initiative and German implementation experience were presented at a conference.
• A conference on sustainable procurement in public construction was held in October 2023, and a forum on sustainable public procurement (SPP) was held in cooperation with the World Bank in May 2024.
• Product criteria for relevant product groups and automated SPP M&E systems are currently being developed and pilot projects implemented in all countries.

Thailand:

• In Thailand, the policy guidelines for reform are set out in the new SPP action plan. The revised ministerial regulation on government support through procurement procedures has significantly strengthened SPP.
• In addition, this, like the Thai Green Label (TGL), is seen as an implementation mechanism for the new Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model. Therefore, a MoU was signed to use TGL certified products for SPP. Thailand's energy supplier is implementing the pilot project.

Malaysia:

• In Malaysia, the policy agenda is set by the 12th 5-Year Plan which places Circular Economy and SPP at the centre of the development process. The SPP Action Plan aims to to increase the volume of SPP to 25% by 2025, expand it at sub-national level and make it mandatory for the construction sector. For example, the Ministry of Finance has stipulated the use of SPP criteria for the purchase of 9 products. This was tested in projects in 3 provinces and in 2 cities and a corresponding blueprint was developed. The project also supports the piloting of SPP in the construction sector.

Indonesia:

• In Indonesia, the national ecolabel and responsibility for green public procurement was transferred to the environmental agency BSILHK. The mandate of the central procurement agency to implement SPP was significantly strengthened by regulation in 2021. The project supports the country in three provinces in introducing SPP for certain product groups on a broad scale and making it measurable. The focus of the support lies in the institutional strengthening of the environmental agency, including through the development of numerous product criteria for the national ecolabel, and interministerial SPP coordination and management.

Philippines:

• In the Philippines, eco-labelling and SPP are seen as implementation tools for environmental legislation. The SPP Roadmap aims to include all common utilities and other public procurements in SPP. In July 2024, the President signed the new Public Procurement Act, which paves the way for SPP. The project supports the development of SPP criteria for numerous common supplies and, in future, for other goods such as air conditioning and cold storage. The introduction and monitoring of SPP is now being strengthened in all ministries through the assignment of an SPP officer and standard operating procedures, as well as the development of SPP action plans. This has been piloted in three ministries with the support of the project.