Well! 2017 is coming to an end and what a momentous year it has been for Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) in India! We took a big leap forward by making enabling provisions on sustainable procurement in the newly released Manual for Procurement of Goods, 2017. Addressing one of the biggest hurdles in the path of embedding sustainability concerns in purchasing decision, this is indeed a historic occasion for global SPP community. India, as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, has chosen to leverage ‘power of the purse’ to change the landscape of manufacturing and raise the profile of public sectors in the eyes of stakeholders. I am sure resonance of this step would be heard soon in the South Asia region as more countries follow in the foot-step of India.
India also witnessed huge efforts towards capacity building and training of stakeholders on SPP. Nationals Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) has included this topic in their Advanced Public Procurement course. I came to know that there was some opposition from the old guard on this inclusion, but the course director prevailed. National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) organised a talk on this topic. I also found this topic included in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) sponsored In-Service Training Programme on ‘Public Procurement’ for All India Services officers of Government of India. Indian Railways Institute for Logistics and Materials Management (IRILMM) organised a highly successful one day workshop on sustainable procurement for public procurers from Indian Railways, PSUs, and Multilateral organisations. UNDP organised two days workshop on sustainable health procurement for their stakeholders. TERI University has included this topic in the course curriculum of their master programme. For the first time, I have witnessed the unfolding of one positive event after another on SPP and this was nothing short of amazing.
This said, as per a recent survey by Bain & Company, one of the biggest reasons why a new initiative fails is that often leadership overlooks the difficulties frontline employees confront while implementing new approaches. The truth is, most of the procurement professionals are not aware of provisions in the Manual. Those who are aware, want to know what makes a product greener and how it can be purchased within the legal and regulatory public procurement framework. Therefore, expecting them to adopt provisions of the Manual into actual practices on their own is a tall order. Only when you begin conversations with people, who are willing to jump on SPP bandwagon, you discover a genuine case for building an ecosystem to mitigate their risks of failure. It is very much our responsibility and in our interest to reach out to frontline procurement professionals, listen to their stories, understand their pain points and address their concerns.
Since the procurement system in India is decentralized, many may advocate that the sustainable procurement strategy needs to be a bottom-up strategy and that it should be left to individual ministries and PSUs to take forward their baton in their own way. Do a reality check and you will soon realise that implementing SPP policy on ground level is not as easy as it may appear. A ministry or a PSU currently does not have the requisite capacity to take a decision on prioritization of products, harmonization of the specification for the prioritized products and services, corresponding voluntary standards/labels for confirming SPP criteria, coordination with multiple stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation etc. In this current scenario, I don’t see bottom-up approach for mainstreaming sustainability in procurement decision bearing fruit in India.
Even if some of them take control of SPP implementation and do it, it would at best be a piecemeal implementation by few units — without harmonization of approach, leading to duplication of works and an increase in the cost of implementation. Also, sporadic public tenders for products with varying sustainability criteria/specification coming from different ministries may defeat the hard earned and heartening progress attained this year in SPP. The market would not make an investment in design and development of new sustainable products in response to such varying public tenders. It is only when all ministries and PSUs work in tandem, it would send a much clearer signal to suppliers and give them the economy of scale to invest and prosper. Unleashing the full potential of SPP would enable India to take giant steps towards meeting its SDG goals and for this a common framework that serves as a guide to ministries/PSUs is imperative.
Formation of a multistakeholder ‘Sustainable Procurement Task Force’ would be the first step in the right direction. The Task Force could be mandated to provide a small list of prioritised product categories, their specification, means of compliance to specification and harmonized evaluation tools to procurers spread across India. This list could be enlarged subsequently in a phased manner based on prioritisation study. While these steps are challenging, the effort and energy required to put them in place will be amply rewarded if the government is able to shift even a small fraction of its production and consumption on a sustainable path.
Convincing government to set up such a Task Force would be the biggest task in 2018 if we are to continue on the same positive path. This seems the only plausible way Government can transform this policy from the mere promotion of green technologies and eco-efficient products to a key instrument for the economic development and competitiveness of Indian industries. It is my heartfelt wish that a public announcement with quantitative targets for SPP implementation is anounced from the North Block in 2018. This will beam the message across the world that Indian means business; that we are not merely mouthing platitudes and big words, but are actually rolling up our sleeves and getting ready to become world leaders in meeting sustainability goals. A bold public commitment would create a shared sense of vision throughout Indian organisations and help them stay the course during difficult times. Wonder if Santa would grant my wish this Christmas?
As I said, coming up with a manual is a huge huge step in the right direction. But this is not the time to be complacent. The time is ripe for making further inroads. Yes, there are challenges; it would be interesting to see how the government navigates these challenges. Of course, the government has competing priorities - no one denies that. But after taking the first step and making enabling provisions in the Manual, making an all-out assault on these challenges is the only way to stay committed on this policy and move forward. Unless the government gets really deep into implementing SPP on the ground, I am afraid, provisions of the Manual would remain a passing reference for discussion in conferences and workshops. This will also be a litmus test for leadership, and show the world that we can walk the talk on Paris Climate Change commitment and SDGs.
Fellow SPP advocates please note – no resting untill we succeed! The resolution for New Year 2018 should be etched in stone – How can we help the government in mainstreaming provisions of the new Manual in actual procurement practices? On this optimistic note, wishing you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2018!
