Public procurement for green economy - Green public procurement in China

Purpose– While the contribution of Green Public Procurement (GPP) to sustainable production and consumption is receiving increasing attention in European countries, there is a scarcity of studies of GPP in China, considering its huge national public procurement expenditure. Hence the purpose of this paper is to study the current status of GPP in China, both from a national regulation study perspective and from a case study summary of Chinese local governments.

Design/methodology/approach– An exploratory approach is applied in this paper. After studying the national government policies, laws, and current status statistics related to GPP in China, the implementation experiences in several Chinese local governments are summarized based on a review of the existing case studies, in order to draw out the possible relationship between GPP and China’s green economy development.

Findings– China is making efforts to develop in a sustainable manner based on the regulations studies. Evidence that GPP does contribute to the green economy development can be found through the case studies of local governments in China. Driving forces and barriers of GPP are discussed.

Research limitations/implications– The study systematically examines the policies, laws and regulations related to GPP in China. The literature review shows the significance impacts of GPP on green economy development of Chinese local governments.

Practical implications– The regulations and case studies review demonstrate Chinese governments’ ambition of sustainable development. The successful experience of local governments in China deserves wide recognition not only in China but also worldwide.

Originality/value– The systematic policy study related to GPP in China and the Chinese local governments' GPP implementation experiences can serve as a basis for future research.

Keywords - Green Public Procurement, Green economy, local government, China