The transition to an innovation- and economic growth-driven model that supports sustainable development, green growth, and the circular economy is an inevitable trend in the face of mounting climate change impacts, environmental pollution, and the over exploitation of natural resources. Vietnam is also confronting the challenge of aligning with this global shift by adopting green production methods and supply chains that protect the environment and preserve natural resources for future generations. This transformation also requires changes in consumption patterns, moving toward more sustainable practices.
The country is making steady progress in advancing sustainable and green public procurement (S/GPP). It continues to adopt and adapt international best practices in public procurement reform and is actively working to identify and implement sound approaches. Notable achievements include the establishment of a legal framework for S/GPP, which integrates sustainability as a core objective within public procurement policies.
Various developments in legal applications are being rolled out such as sub-decrees, and guidelines on the implementation processes which will enable S/GPP to reach its target of 35% of total public procurement by 2035, and 50% of total public procurement by 2050. The latest development is the training of procurement officials in sustainable public procurement, an initiative led by the Centre for Procurement Services of Vietnam, with advice from the SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component.
On 30 June 2025, the collaboration between Vietnam’s Centre for Procurement Services and the SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component culminated with a Training of Trainers about Green Procurement of Goods. SWITCH-Asia experts, Dr Nguyen Thoa Boa and Dr Lunchakorn Prathumratana, GPP experts, shared knowledge about the recently developed Procurement Guidelines of CPS and international experiences in eco-labelling.
Ms Pham Minh Yen, Vice-Director of Centre for Procurement Services (CPS), Head of Bidding Centre, noted that: Green Public Procurement is key to turning public spending into a driver of sustainable development.
Dr Nguyen Thoa Bao added: Sustainable Procurement integrates three important elements, environment, society and economy into the contractor selection process, from the stage of master planning, contractor selection plan, design, bidding documents, request documents, bid evaluation, proposal documents, signing and managing contract implementation. Encouraging and promoting sustainable public procurement will bring practical results, contributing to creating a green position for the economy.
Finally, Dr Lunchakorn Prathumratana emphasized: Green Public Procurement is no longer a future vision. It’s a present priority for Vietnam. The SWITCH-Asia team is proud to support Vietnam’s journey in making green and innovative procurement.
The workshops were organised by the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia programme and its partners as part of the ongoing Technical Advisory on “Green Public Procurement for Transformation”, which aims to Increase and share knowledge about G/SPP across Asia-Pacific region.
This initiative builds on results achieved in 2024 by the SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component, including the publication of a Detailed Assessment of S/GPP in Vietnam and of a Policy Brief about SPP in Construction and Infrastructure in Vietnam.
Contact:
For more information on EU SWITCH-Asia covering Sustainable/Green Public Procurement, contact:
Ms. Elodie Maria-Sube, EU Policy Development and Stakeholder Engagement Expert, SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component, [email protected]. Learn more here.
