UN Agencies Spotlight How Sustainable Procurement Can Accelerate SDGs and Combat Climate Change

With a number of important political, economic and social leaders from around the world in attendance, the Forum provided a platform for discussing dynamic trends and identifying potential market opportunities in the international public procurement market. As an important supporting event to the 5th China International Import Expo, the hybrid-event saw opening remarks from Xu Hongcai, Vice Minister of Finance, Wu Qing, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, and Anabel González, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization, as well as keynote speeches from representatives from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Embassy of South Africa in China and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The forum also invited representatives from the World Bank, the Global Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the New Development Bank, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to present their progress on sustainable procurement and economic recovery, as well as to advise Chinese enterprises on how to better access the international procurement market. 

Nenad Radonjic, Deputy Representative Operations of UNICEF, highlighted the procurement accomplishments that Chinese suppliers have achieved at UNICEF’s global tenders at a historical record of 1.3 billion USD in 2021. He reiterated Sustainable Procurement as a critical enabler to realize important SDGs and encouraged enterprises from manufacturing industries to further explore collaboration opportunities with UNICEF and UN, in China and beyond.

Vanno Noupech, Representative of UNHCR in China, noted the unprecedented increases in global forced displacement as well as the increasing volume of UN procurement in China. He said: “China’s share of total UN procurement continues to increase: it went up by 4.5% in 2020 and increased even more, by nearly 6%, in 2021”.  In his keynote speech, Noupech highlighted how China’s strengths represent an opportunity for the UN humanitarian system. He said China’s manufacturing capacity, competitive pricing, technological innovation, and logistics capacity can help us ensure that we remain ready and agile to deliver humanitarian assistance rapidly and effectively to people who are desperately in need. Noupech also emphasized how climate change and the environment are bringing new impacts and complexity to humanitarian response, noting that UNHCR is hoping through partnership “To leverage China’s experience and expertise to find solutions to making humanitarian action and supply greener and more sustainable.”

Speaking at the event, Simonetta Siligato, UNOPS Senior Advisor to the Regional Director for Asia, emphasized the significance of sustainable procurement: “We believe there is a huge potential in using public procurement to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More sustainable and resilient procurement models can strengthen supply chains, enhance transparency, and fight corruption. Diversifying supply chains can give businesses owned by women, young people, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities a chance to prosper. Greater effectiveness in public spending can help to address social inequalities, increase resilience to shocks such as from a changing climate or pandemic, and lay foundations for a cleaner, more sustainable world.”