The City of Cape Town has drafted a Green Procurement Action Plan with the aim of supporting and sustaining green industries and solutions in the city.

The plan, which will appear before council for deliberation in 2018, will initially focus on establishing the market’s readiness to supply green technologies in the various sectors, before setting targets for green procurement in each sector.

“Government, including municipalities, has enormous purchasing power. By leveraging our spending power, we can do a lot to encourage suppliers and service providers to use environmentally responsible production solutions in their day-to-day business,” says Johan van der Merwe the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Finance.

Sustainable strides

While the City’s efforts to drive green procurement are being given new steam by the planned implementation of the Green Procurement Action Plan, the City says it has already taken many notable strides to make its operations more environmentally sustainable.

The City recently adopted a Climate Change Policy, which states that it will “consider the life-cycle cost of goods and services in City supply chain management processes, thereby promoting the use of climate-appropriate resources, technologies and approaches and stimulating the market for these products and services, with a focus on local supply where available”.

Ensuring long-term operational sustainability

“By proactively adopting a green procurement approach, the City is avoiding having to play catch-up should more stringent laws or carbon taxes be introduced,” Van der Merwe notes.

“Efforts to stimulate the supply of green products via our procurement policies are in line with the Organisational Transformation and Development Plan’s focus on leveraging technology for progress, positioning Cape Town as a forward-looking and globally competitive business city, ensuring resource efficiency and security, and ensuring long-term operational sustainability,” concludes.