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19 July 2018

UN High Level Political Forum: Procurement key to achieve SDGs

Sustainable procurement was recognised as key to the achievement of the SDGs at the UN’s annual High Level Political Forum (HLPF), which took place this week, 9 - 18 July 2018, in New York (USA).

The HLPF is the UN’s main platform on sustainable development and plays a central role in the follow-up and review of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global level. Among the SDGs addressed was SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

During the forum, ICLEI’s Secretary General Gino Van Begin emphasized strategic public procurement’s role in achieving this goal. Van Begin pointed out that public procurement makes up 15 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product. Therefore, how to procure should underpin governments’ decisions, making them beneficial for the organisation, but also for the environment, society and the economy.

ICLEI’s work is a key driver for sustainable development through public procurement. Networks such as the Procura+ Sustainable Procurement Network and the Global Lead City Network (GLCN) on Sustainable Procurement engage over 300 cities in 50 countries.

ICLEI was represented during the Forum by local and regional leaders from across the world, among which Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of Bonn (Germany) and President of ICLEI, Procura+ Member Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona (Spain), and Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal, a GLCN member.

To learn more about the HLPF, click here. To find out more about ICLEI’s delegation at the HLPF, click here, and for ICLEI Europe’s contribution to the HLPF, click here.