The government presented its Green Public Procurement (GPP) action plan for public consultation yesterday which, together with the national action plan, is aimed at promoting environmental awareness in the light of the country’s environmental obligations and aspirations for sustainable development.

The draft document was presented at yesterday’s conference Greening the Economy – A Case for Sustainability, and sets out the aims and objectives, as well as the number of actions to be adopted and implemented in Malta during the period 2007-2009.

It lays out the steps that need to be taken to ensure that it becomes a reality. GPP has the potential to generate environmental benefits such as the reduced use of natural resources and a reduction in pollution.

It is planned in a manner that proposes benefits for the economy, as it encourages consideration of life cycle costs and value for money rather than short-term cost. GPP also benefits suppliers by stimulating eco-innovation – a requirement that lies at the heart of the Lisbon Agenda.

GPP is the approach by which public authorities integrate environmental criteria into all stages of their procurement process by seeking and choosing outcomes and solutions that have the least possible impact on the environment throughout their whole life cycle.

The GPP action plan is based on an understanding of the current situation in Malta and an analysis of best practice examples from the national action plans of other EU member states. It is also based on consultation with key stakeholders and was prepared by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) in conjunction with the Department of Contracts (DOC) and the GPP working group.

The DOC was established to provide officials responsible for tenders within government departments with the training necessary in order to ensure environmental awareness with regard to the purchasing of products or services.

Rural Affairs and Environ-ment Minister George Pullicino, and Parliament-ary Secretary within the Finance Ministry Tonio Fenech, explained that with regard to environmental protection, the government wants to practise what it preaches.

Mr Pullicino said, in fact, that the government is the largest entity and it may prove to be very effective in improving the state of the environment by adopting a number of measures.

Government entities within the EU carry out purchases amounting to e1,500 million every year – around 16 per cent of the EU’s GDP, said Mr Pullicino, adding that the local public sector purchased services and products amounting to Lm50 million from about 208 entities.

The plan to foster a green public culture poses a challenge, as well as an opportunity, he said, adding that what is meant by GPP is that when the public sector chooses a particular service or product they will be making use of, a number of factors will be taken into consideration.

“The decision will be centred around the price, as well as on the element of consumption, which affects the surrounding environment,” Mr Pullicino said.

Mr Fenech emphasised the fact that polluters are not only producers, but also consumers.

He said that almost every ministry is adopting measures to make use of environment-friendly products and services.

“As a matter of principle, if we really believe in the environment, we have to understand that there are certain financial considerations, but this does not imply a drastic increase in expenditure,” he said.

Every change will be gradual and progressive in order to avoid the immediate consequences of increased costs, said Mr Fenech.

Mr Pullicino added that increased demand for a product automatically reduces prices. “Recycled paper, for example, is slowly becoming cheaper,” he said, while also giving the example of lighting in newly-built roads, which is designed in such a way that light pollution is reduced because only down-lighting is used.

The benefits of GPP are listed in the EU’s handbook on environment public procurement, Buying Green! A Handbook on Environmental Public Procurement, available at www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/gpp

The draft document is open for consultation until 15 November and comments may be sent to the Director General for Contracts in Floriana.