The training workshop on Promoting Sustainable Public Procurement and eco-labelling in Armenia took place on 26 July 2023.
Objectives of the training workshop were to:
- Present UNEP’s methodology on SPP and approaches on eco-labelling;
- Present main activities and expected results on SPP and eco-labelling in Armenia, including review of policy and legislation frameworks, methodological recommendations on prioritisation of products for SPP, and tools for SPP criteria application;
- Raise awareness of Armenian stakeholders on SPP and eco-labelling principles and opportunities for stakeholder’s involvement;
- Introduce benefits of SPP and eco-labelling to Armenian procurers, suppliers and customers;
- Strengthen capacities of businesses to respond to public tenders with inclusive sustainability criteria.
Participants
The representatives of the Government of Armenia, Ministries of Environment, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, civil society, business, relevant stakeholder groups. The representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia and UNEP attended the workshop.
Background
UNEP, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, and with support from the Regional Environmental Centre for Caucasus in Armenia and Green Transition NGO (as well as other stakeholders), implements a set of activities on promotion and application of SPP and eco-labelling. It includes the review of the legislative frameworks to prepare recommendations on how SPP and eco-labelling provisions can be introduced into legislative acts; prioritisation of products for SPP pilot tenders followed by elaboration of the sustainability criteria for selected product categories; preparation of awareness raising and training materials on the SPP benefits and organization of communication events for different target audiences on SPP and eco-labelling.
The training workshop on Promoting Sustainable Public Procurement and Eco-labelling was organized to introduce the UNEP’s methodology on SPP to national stakeholders and to discuss the role of SPP and eco-labelling principles in the context of shifting to a green economy. For the successful implementation of the SPP and eco-labelling activities in Armenia, collaboration between key national stakeholders is very important – thus a large component of UNEP’s activities will be focused on strengthening knowledge of procurers (governmental entities) and of suppliers (businesses) on SPP and eco-labelling.