International Green Purchasing Congress 2006

Summary and Abstracts

International Green Purchasing Congress 2006

Organised by the Green Council and co-organised by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the "International Green Purchasing Congress 2006" was held from November 30 to December 1, 2006 at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Over 250 local and overseas environmental professionals, government officials, and procurers participated in the Congress.

Opening Ceremonies and Remarks

The Congress was opened by Dr. Priscilla Leung, Chairperson of the Green Council, who welcomed the guests, speakers and participants. Opening remarks were provided by Dr Sarah Liao, JP, Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, and Ms Audrey Eu, SC, JP, Chairperson of the Environmental Affairs Panel of the Legislative Council. Dr. Liao spoke about the direction and development of green purchasing by the Hong Kong SAR Government. Ms Eu shared her aspirations for the advancement of green purchasing in Hong Kong.

Keynote Speeches

Keynote speakers included: Mr. Bas de Leeuw, Head of Strategy Unit, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, Production and Consumption Branch, United Nations Environment Programme; Professor Hideki Nakahara, Council Member of the International Green Purchasing Network and Chair of the Green Purchasing Network, Japan; Dr. Ning Yu, former Chair of the Global Ecolabelling Network; and Ms Linda W P Ho, Chief Executive Officer of the Green Council.

Mr. de Leeuw presented the United Nations' "Marrakech Process" which is intended to develop a global ten-year programme for sustainable consumption and production. He also identified that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assists governments around the world with implementation of the United Nations’ Guidelines on Consumer Protection.

In Professor Nakahara's speech, he discussed the development and evolution of the Japanese Green Purchasing Network over the past 10 years, which now boasts membership of over 3,000 organisations. Professor Nakahara also introduced and explained the objectives of the International Green Purchasing Network, established in 2005.

Dr. Yu introduced various types of ecolabels in existence and discussed their characteristics, implementation, applications and specific roles in green procurement. She also introduced and described the Global Ecolabelling Network's Internationally Coordinated Ecolabelling System (GENICES) as a recently launched initiative to expand the applications and influence of national ecolabels, potentially harmonise national criteria sets, and reduce international trade barriers.

Ms Linda W P Ho identified and referred to a recent opinion survey conducted by Green Council officials. About 60% of the local industry and general public respondents identified difficulties when purchasing green products, of which 40% stated that there were few choices and limited outlets for such products. Some also expressed difficulties in identifying quality green products. 80% expressed the view that it is desirable and necessary to establish a public green product database. A significant 97% identified that the Government should take an active role in practicing green purchasing. In summarizing the main survey results, Ms Ho emphasized that there is a significant consumer demand for green products and the public expect the Government to take a proactive role in promoting and practising green purchasing in Hong Kong. Ms Ho proceeded to describe that in the Mainland, and as of January 1, 2007, the Central Government will regulate and advise all governmental units at central and provincial levels to purchase green products. Lastly, Ms Ho announced that the Green Council will be launching a "Hong Kong Green Purchasing Network" to provide a platform for exchanging green purchasing information.

Other Presentations

After the keynote speeches, a series of presentations were provided by local and international public and private sector invitees. Over the two day period, speakers provided presentations as well as participating in panel discussions that enabled interaction and exchange of additional information and opinions with the audience members. [Coffee and lunch breaks also served as opportunities for audience members to access and converse with the speakers.]

Mr. Evan Bozowsky, Manager of the Global Ecolabelling Network Secretariat, discussed challenges and important benefits of co-operation and collaboration between officials of environmental performance labelling organizations and public and private sector procurement organisations. Local and overseas government representatives from China (Mr. Li Lihua and Mr. Liu Zunwen), Hong Kong (Mr. Raymond Fan), Japan (Mr. Kazuyuki Harada), Korea (Ms Im Hyun-jung), New Zealand (Ms Dana Peterson), Sweden (Mr. Peter Nohrstedt) and the UK (Ms Barbara Morton) presented their governments' green purchasing efforts and achievements to date.

Mr. Scot Case, an American expert on eco-design and green purchasing, described the recent rapid expansion of green markets and retail sector interest and demand for greener products in the USA. Industry sector representatives from local and overseas organisations included Mr. Yoshinori Miyazawa, Dr. John Chai, Mr. Peter Afshar and Mr. Felix Lee. These speakers shared their experiences and achievements in green purchasing and supply chain management. Professor Yanta Lam and Dr. Llyas Muhammad Mazhar of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University provided insight into both local eco-design and trends in Europe.

Finally, Professor C S Poon, who had served as the Chairperson of the Organising Committee for this Congress, expressed gratitude to all the speakers and other participants in closing remarks.

The Congress concluded with three concurrent Technical Workshops for participants to further exchange ideas with the speakers on various topics, including striking the balance between economy and environment and how to practice green purchasing. In one of the workshops, government officials addressed their actual and potential roles in promoting green purchasing.

A formal Congress Dinner was held on the evening of November 30, 2006 for all local and overseas speakers, supporting organisations and sponsors to meet and interact.

The Congress was informative, interesting and a great success, with considerable information shared and positive feedback received from local and international participants. A strong view, that emerged and was re-enforced throughout the Congress, was that while green purchasing efforts have been initiated in Hong Kong, considerable more effort and initiatives are immediately possible and desirable


Opening Remarks by Dr. Sarah Liao, JP, Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works	Opening Remarks by Ms Audrey Eu, SC, JP, Chairperson of the Environmental Affairs Panel of the Legislative Council


Mr. Bas de Leeuw describing the sustainable consumption work program of the United Nations Environment Program	Professor Nakahara discussed the development and evolution of the Japanese Green Purchasing Network


Ms Linda W P Ho of Green Council shared the green purchasing survey results with participants	Group photo of all speakers at the International Green Purchasing Congress 2006


Discussion during Technical Workshops	Discussion during Technical Workshops