Government Procurement and Sustainable Development in the WTO

If government authorities are committed to a more sustainable economy, a redirection of their public procurement can help to create the critical mass necessary for the existence and viability of important markets for the production of technologies, services and products with a reduced environmental impact (clean energy, electrical cars, smart buildings, etc.) and make an important contribution to the achievement of the goals established in relation to the fight against the main environmental and other problems at the local, national and international level. Although the preamble to the Government Procurement Agreement of 2012 does not mention the objective of sustainable development (contrary to the preamble to the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization), it is very relevant that trade is mentioned nine times in the current Sustainable Development Goals, that national governments have formally recognized the role of public procurement in supporting sustainability (Goal 12.7) and that the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, far from being an obstacle for its Parties to use public procurement to pursue the objective of sustainable development, is increasingly a central force in public procurement worldwide.