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Advancing Sustainable Public Procurement in Cambodia: Key Steps and Priorities for Action

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Advancing Sustainable Public Procurement in Cambodia: Key Steps and Priorities for Action
Country: Cambodia
Workshop Insights

Phnom Penh – On January 22nd, 2025, the Royal Government of Cambodia, led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Environment, together with the EU held a consultative workshop to identify key steps and priorities for implementing Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) in Cambodia, along with capacity and institutional building initiatives.  The event gathered more than 200 decision-makers and technical personnel from various government agencies, as well as private sector representatives and development partners. Participants discussed how public buyers could leverage their purchasing power to drive positive change and promote more sustainable goods and services.

Speaking on the occasion of the workshop, His Excellency Dr. Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Economy and Finance, welcomed all participants. He explained that this workshop is held in the context of the 2023 Public Procurement Law of Cambodia, the evolving PFM Reform Programme, and the National Strategy for Public Procurement Reform, 2019-2025. He expressed his wish for this workshop to facilitate discussions about the steps for the SPP sub-decree drafting process, as well as capacity-building needs to equip Royal Government of Cambodia professionals with the necessary skills.

H.E. Igor Driesmans, Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Cambodia, emphasized that enhancing sustainability of goods and services is essential to protect the environment, save energy and fight the impacts of climate change. In light of Cambodia’s upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, increased sustainability will play a key role for access to the EU market which has supported economic development in Cambodia for many years. He noted:

Our discussions on SPP are linked to two key aspects of the EU’s cooperation with Cambodia: public finance management and sustainable development. High-quality procurement and construction are also facilitated by Eurocodes, i.e. European standards for a common approach for the design of buildings and other civil engineering works and construction products. Good building standards can make buildings greener and more resilient to withstand the effects of climate change.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Senior GPP expert, presented how GPP can be a powerful tool to reach sustainability targets and transform markets. He shared insights from other international experiences and underlined that Cambodia was in an ideal position to set the stage for effective SPP implementation. Developing a solid policy framework, creating institutional mechanisms, expanding the scope and scale of Sustainable Public Procurement, and creating space for sustainability in the public finance system are essential elements that contribute to strengthening and elevating GPP. These elements go hand in hand with a professionalisation of the procurement profession and the computerisation of the procurement system.

Dr Adamantia Athanasopoulou, EU Joint Research Centre, and Dr Roberta Apostolska, Institute of Earthquake Engineering, presented the European Experience of Sustainable procurement in the construction sector. They showcased the benefits of policy-driven procurement for sustainability objectives. The definition of common criteria and standards for the sustainability of goods is necessary in sustainable procurement, to guide public procurement officials as well as private companies.

The event also featured a panel discussion highlighting EU and Cambodian experiences and practices in key areas such as sustainability policies, public financial systems, market transformation through SPP and transparency.  The discussion focused on the motivations for adopting SPP, the keys for a successful implementation of SPP policies and the positive outcomes of SPP.

The workshop received inputs from the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia  programme as part of the ongoing Technical Advisory on “Sustainable/Green Public Procurement” and the EU4PFM in Cambodia programme, which supports the strengthening of public financial management systems and the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Regional Dialogue Programme, which supports EU-ASEAN dialogues, such as the one on Eurocodes.

In 2024, the SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component published a Detailed Assessment of SPP in Cambodia as well as the Asian Experiences in GPP report, which covered Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and China. Nine EU SWITCH-Asia grants were implemented in Cambodia over the past 15 years, covering a variety of topics related to Sustainable Consumption and Production. The two most recent grants were Switch2Solar and SwitchGarment. In 2022, SWITCH-Asia also supported the drafting of Cambodia’s Sustainable Consumption and Production Roadmap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About EU’s support for Public Financial Management in Cambodia

  • The EU has supported the Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform of the Royal Government of Cambodia since 2006. The current support is channelled via the “EU-Cambodia Partnership for Public Financial Management Reforms 2022-2028”, focusing on reforms of the management of public funds, promoting a progressively more accountable, transparent and efficient use of public funds.

  • The EU also provides technical assistance to the Royal Government on request and promotes institutional twinning between Cambodian institutions and EU Member States institutions, including in Statistics, Education and - as of 2025 - on Taxation. Technical support has included cooperation on drafting the 2023 Public Procurement Law which introduced the concept of Sustainable Public Procurement in Cambodia’s legislation.

 

Contact:

For more information on EU SWITCH-Asia activities in SPP, contact:

Ms. Elodie Maria-Sube, EU Policy Development and Stakeholder Engagement Expert, SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component, [email protected].

Learn more here.