A meeting was held on Ecolabeling and Sustainable Public Procurement

A dialogue on ecolabeling and sustainable public procurement was held in Georgia. The meeting was opened by the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Solomon Pavliashvili.

"The introduction of green economy tools will result in lower costs for businesses and the state, increase competitiveness, promote employment opportunities and incomes, create new business activity trajectories, and inspire the private sector to develop and produce environmentally and socially responsible products. As a result, we will get an improved business environment, market diversification, more jobs, and improved economic indicators for the country, "said Solomon Pavliashvili.

The Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Romeo Mikoutadze, the Chairman of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Maya Bitadze, the Deputy Head of Cooperation of the European Union Representation in Georgia, Katalin Germani, and the Regional Coordinator of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Mahir Aliyev, took part in the dialogue. 

The dialogue aimed to support the activities carried out in the fields of sustainable public procurement and ecolabeling, as well as to raise awareness about the benefits of sustainable public procurement and the importance of the ecolabeling system.

The discussion was attended by stakeholders who will be to some extent involved in the following stages of implementing sustainable public procurement and eco-labeling systems in the future, taking into mind the importance of adopting sustainable public procurement and eco-labeling systems in Georgia.

The United Nations Environment Program, in cooperation with the EIEC and the Public Procurement Agency, implements measures to introduce and promote sustainable public procurement. These measures include improving legislation to introduce sustainable public procurement provisions.

It is taken into account to increase knowledge of the advantages of sustainable public procurement among government agencies as well as the business community, including small and medium-sized businesses and business associations.