The Responsible Purchasing Network is organising a webinar which will concentrate on how to make various aspects of procurement environmentally friendly and fair.

This will include tips on defining fair trade in bids and tenders, finding fair trade certified products to suit your needs, and securing the best selection and prices. The new Fair Trade Procurement Guides for Cities, Towns, Colleges and Universities will also be referred to.

The webinar will start at 14:00 EDT, and therefore at 20:00 CET.

To register, click here.

The ECOPOL conference “Accelerating eco-innovation policies” will focus on policy approaches and instruments boosting the uptake of eco-innovative solutions, especially in the field of waste management and resource efficiency. The conference will be also complemented with a joint session focusing on systemic eco-innovation, in cooperation with ECOINNOVERA platform, which is one of the ECOPOL partners. The conference is organised by the public partnership ECOPOL and hosted by the Managing Authority of Attika Region.

The ECOPOL partnership has identified over 150 eco-innovative policy practices and tools in the areas of waste and recycling, green public procurement, and internationalisation of eco-innovative businesses. Going beyond sole identification, ECOPOL has been able to launch a number of concrete implementations of these policy instruments. It has developed a set of tools and methods to support the process of transferring and implementing new instruments.

The Covenant capaCITY project is hosting a free workshop targeted at municipal government, local decision-makers, local government associations and networks and energy agencies.

Focusing on the commonly-asked questions surrounding access to funding for local climate and energy action, strategies for saving money and reducing emissions through energy efficient procurement, and what processes are most efficient, the workshop will provide answers and point the way to better means of making decisions on these subjects.

The workshop will consist of presentations, a Q&A session, a panel discussion, and will conclude with visits to areas of Freiburg that exemplify local renewable energy in action.

For more information and to register, click the link below, or email covenant-capacity@iclei.org.

On 29 October 2013, Vice President Tajani will host a conference in Brussels (Belgium) to identify key difficulties experienced by industry in dealing with public administrations. Under the title “The Path to Growth: Achieving Excellence in Business Friendly Public Administration” the conference brings together policy-makers, ministers from various Member States, industry leaders and stakeholders, academics and policy advisers to debate the challenges and opportunities facing European public administrations, as well as the necessary policy responses at an EU and national level.

The EU's growth strategy, EUROPE 2020, stresses that an efficient, effective and transparent public administration is one of the key factors in driving competitiveness in today's economy. To achieve this, important reforms enabling more strategic and effective public administrations across the EU are needed. The conference aims to encourage an exchange of fresh and innovative thinking in reforming public administrations.

To find out more and to register for the conference, follow the link below.

The Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) is running a free Timber Procurement Policy (TPP) webinar on 29 October. It is designed to inform participants how to comply with the UK government's Timber Procurement Policy.

CPET's project manager will explain TPP and how to become TPP-compliant with three guest presenters.

To register for the webinar, follow the link below.

This International Green Procurement forum will explore public and private green procurement policies, and will be a showcase for green projects and products.

The aim of the conference is to promote a widespread culture of buying green by updating public and private operators on the most recent policies, offering expert trainings and bringing to light the latest research and experiences.

The conference also aims to promote interaction between institutions, firms and civil society organisations, highlighting the best practices and projects that exist at local, national and international level. Through this, a new model can be developed, along with the establishment of new networks and of innovative synergies.

Finally, CompraVerde-BuyGreen seeks to support the production and the commercialisation of sustainable products, making sure visibility and development opportunities are given to those companies already committed to this topic or interested in new green strategies.

For more information, follow the link below.

Sustainable Innovation 13 will provide a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to collaboration, co-creation and new business models in regards to sustainability, products, services and technologies.

A range of benefits will be provided to both speakers and delegates. Presentations will be given by key international researchers, practitioners and policy-makers, new research will be presented, and participants will have the opportunity to meet delegates from business, government and academia.

Is supply management your competitive edge or is it holding you back? Save the date of the 4th International Supply Management Congress (ISMC) where you can learn about the latest developments that will help you to innovate and integrate your supply chain management. This year’s event will be held on November 5, 2013 in one of Amsterdam’s most beautiful historical venues -- the former stock exchange building Beurs van Berlage.

Programm: http://www.supplymanagementcongress.nl/program/program

More info: http://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/home/save-the-date-november-5th-amsterdam

The European Sustainable Timber Conference will not only mark the end of the STA project, but will also provide an outlook on future activities concerning sustainable timber procurement.

More information will be available on the project website (see below) shortly.

This conference on public-private partnerships (PPP's) will feature high-profile keynote speakers from the PPP academic community and high level policy community, as well as finished research and research in progress.

It represents an excellent networking opportunity for researchers and practitioners and will explore how topics discussed relate to a variety of sectors.

The conference will focus on issues such as: the impact of the financial crisis on policy, financing, management of PPP's and involved actors; the role of PPP in addressing societal challenges, like climate change, clean energy, development, smart transport, health care, etc.; innovation in and through PPP’s; internationalisation of PPP markets; integrated service delivery through PPP’s; and much more.

For more information, follow the link below.