At the UNEA conference in Nairobi, Kenia, national and city governments met to discuss how to build sustainable, prosperous and inclusive societies that address key environmental challenges with innovative solutions and rely on responsible patterns of consumption and production.  

One of the main negotiation outputs of the conference are resolutions. An example is the Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) UNEA 4 resolution, which highlights the need to support sustainable procurement policies.

Key extracts:

Encourages all Member States as well as cities and local communities and relevant stakeholders, including manufacturers and retailers, to enhance their collaboration to enable consumers and public authorities to make informed choices.

Invites all Member States, in order to work towards achieving sustainable consumption and production, to develop sustainable public procurement policies and update their public procurement legal frameworks in line with the Sustainable Development Goal target 12.7 commitment.

Encourages Member States to promote public, private and public-private initiatives and alliances to stimulate demand for sustainable products.

This high-level support encourages starting on, continuing or advancing sustainable procurement measures. For this, ICLEI provides guidance for every step of the way. Check out ICLEI's Resource Centre, our Tools & Guidance page, as well as the case study page. If you are keen to connect with other ambitious public authorities in Europe, consider joining the Procura+ Network.

See the full resolution here.