The Reducing Plastic Waste in Canada project partnered with the Circular Innovation Council of Canada, Sustainable Global Resources, Inc., and Sustainable Procurement Ltd. In the U.K. to deliver a 3-session training course to inform and inspire change toward greening procurement in Canada.

Public and private sector procurement represents an important part of the demand for good and services in the economy. Government procurement can influence markets given the volume of products and services it purchases, the standards it sets and the credibility it can impart to suppliers. Green and circular procurement can also help organisations attain their environmental and sustainability goals.

Recognising public authorities as major buyers, the European Commission has put Green Public Procurement (GPP) high on the political agenda. Green Public Procurement is not only closely tied to key EU Green Deal targets, but also to the indispensable principle of a just and inclusive transition to the Circular Economy. There is much to learn from EU experience and collaborations between peers could accelerate the development of cross-continental or global standards which would be beneficial. There is a clear demand by the procurement community in Canada for training, including tools and case study experiences, to enable practitioners to deliver on plastic waste reduction goals building on existing efforts to advance circular procurement practices.

The circular procurement course funded by the Reducing Plastic Waste in Canada project was developed to offer a knowledge building opportunity for Canadian procurement specialists and professionals to learn about advancements in circularity and how they are applied in procurement processes in European jurisdictions. Specific course elements included information on the benefits of greening procurement; how to get started integrating circularity into procurement; how to integrate circular principles into the tendering process and tips on how to address challenges in the procurement process, and how to develop key performance indicators.  The course was developed as a series of 3 modules as follows:

  • Module 1: Introduction to the Circular Economy, Procurement, and Plastics 
  • Module 2: Specifying Circular Outcomes – the Procurement Toolbox

Train the Trainer Session: Using Procurement to Reduce Plastic Waste – Overview of Resource Package and How to Use the Resources Available

The course content was developed to benefit Canadian procurement specialists with some knowledge of sustainable procurement looking to deepen their practices and acquire new tools and solutions to address plastic waste reduction objectives in their organizations. The resource package developed for the course include ppt presentation decks, worksheets, checklists, case studies, and a bibliography. All resources are available on the Circular Innovation Council Procurement website.

 

URLs / References

https://circularprocurement.ca/plastic-resources/

 

The European Union (EU) project on Reducing Plastic Waste in Canada