Market Readiness Analysis

1- RESEARCH BACKGROUND
The Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Public Procurement (MTF on SPP)
The Marrakech Process was initiated to respond to the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation agreed on at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.
More specifically, the Marrakech Process is a global multi-stakeholder process to
support the implementation of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) projects.
The first meeting took place in Marrakech, Morocco in June 2003, hence the name.
In order to support the implementation of concrete SCP projects at regional and national
levels, seven Marrakech Task Forces have been created with the participation of
experts from developing and developed countries. The Task Forces and their lead
countries are: Cooperation with Africa (Germany), Education for Sustainable
Consumption (Italy), Sustainable Buildings and Construction (Finland), Sustainable
Lifestyles (Sweden), Sustainable Products (United Kingdom), Sustainable Tourism
(France) and Sustainable Public Procurement (Switzerland). The current research deals
with Sustainable Public Procurement.
Defining Sustainable Procurement
Sustainable Procurement is ―the process whereby organizations meet their needs for
goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole
life basis. It results in benefits not only to the organization, but also to society and the
economy, whilst minimizing damage to the environment.‖ 2 Sustainable Procurement
seeks to achieve the appropriate balance between the three pillars of sustainable
development i.e. economic, social and environmental.
Governments are major consumer of goods and services, with their purchasing power
representing 15 to 25% of GDP in most nations. Governments are therefore strong
levers for change and have a duty to lead by example and make responsible decisions
to create a better and safer world.
Public procurement will be sustainable when procurement officers include sustainability
issues at all stages of the procurement process – from the selection of suppliers to the
management contracts. This implies new practices such as the screening of suppliers
throughout the supply chain to check for compliance with labor laws and the insertion of
2 Source: “Procuring the Future”, the report of the UK Sustainable Procurement Task Force, June 2006. This
definition has been adopted by the Swiss-led Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Public Procurement.
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