ABOUT THE EVENT

Sustainable Procurement is a process that organizations use to meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves optimal value for money. The approach is meant to generate benefits to the society and the economy with minimal damage to the environment.

The global public procurement market is approximately one-tenth ($10 trillion in 2019) of the global gross domestic product (GDP). In OECD countries, government procurement accounts for around 12% of GDP – a figure that is similar in the emerging markets. Over the last decade, governments and multilateral development institutions have increased programs that promote sustainable procurement. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a global economic slowdown with shrinking GDP projections in countries across the globe. Governance reforms are typically one of the policy recommendations for effective crisis response and, in the PFM context, for creating fiscal space.

Governments engage at all levels of the procurement process and are uniquely placed to promote inclusion, environmental sustainability, and economic growth through their selection and contracting of works, goods, and services. Another aspect is encouraging SMEs and promoting equality in public procurement to increase their share in public expenditure aiming at achieving social and economic development objectives.

(Simultaneous interpretation will be available in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic)

WHAT WE WILL LEARN
– How to promote sustainable development through public procurement
– How countries are embracing sustainable procurement: examples from South Africa-Global
– Lessons learned and the way forward
BIO
Prof. Geo Quinot, Administrative and Public Procurement Law, Department of Public Law, University of Stellenbosch
Prof. Geo Quinot is a recipient of noteworthy awards, including the University of Stellenbosch Chancellor’s Medal, the Rector’s Award for Community Interaction, the CHE/HELTASA National Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award in 2012, and the Stellenbosch University Chancellor’s Award in 2016. He completed an LLM at the University of Virginia School of Law in the United States as a Fulbright Fellow, an MA in Higher Education Studies at the University of the Free State, and an MPA at the University Of Birmingham School of Government. His doctoral study focused on the topic of “the Judicial Regulation of State Commercial Activity.” His research focuses on administrative law, with a particular interest in commercial conduct of the state, including public procurement as well as legal education. He is the founding director of the African Procurement Law Unit (APLU) and an editor of the African Public Procurement Law Journal.