Understanding how local economies' and markets' function enables humanitarians to identify the best ways to assist people in need and maximize the positive impact of their work. When it comes to environmental sustainability, it becomes particularly important to assess local market capacity to identify locally available goods and services with a reduced environmental impact, to avoid relying only on international procurement and long-distance shipping.
In February 2024, the Logistics Cluster environment project’s Green Procurement Specialist, Paola Robert, conducted a field mission in Bangladesh in collaboration with IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent). The mission’s goal was to assess the availability of environmentally sustainable goods and services in Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar markets and pilot a green procurement market assessment.
The assessment was conducted by prioritizing the top areas of expenditure, visiting key suppliers for construction, non-food items, fleet, and medical equipment, and holding internal sessions with the program and logistics teams from the Bangladesh Red Crescent and some of its Red Cross partners to build a comprehensive overview of the context of the local supply chain operation and to raise awareness on green procurement.
Following this assessment, the team in the country office was empowered via a set of recommendations to allow them to build an action plan to address challenges and gaps, and implement opportunities identified further details on this case study and the next steps taken place by the team in country will be shared at the next Green procurement global info-session on the 15th of May 2024 at 11:00 CET, please register here.
A few words from Arifur Rahman, Procurement Manager at IFRC Bangladesh:
“It was an enriching experience to be involved in the Green Procurement Market Assessment Process. I am grateful for the chance to contribute to sustainable practices within RCRC movement.
Throughout this process, I have gained valuable insights into the importance of considering environmental criteria in procurement process and decisions.
I am thankful for the collaborative effort of everyone involved in this assessment specially the WREC team, IFRC Regional and HQ offices, together, we have made strides towards integrating environmental considerations into our procurement practices, laying the foundation for positive change.
As we continue our journey towards sustainability, I look forward to identifying further opportunities and its continuation to make a real difference. Let us remain steadfast in our commitment to responsible procurement practices, knowing that our efforts today will have a lasting impact on future generations.”
Would you like to know more or receive support on Green Procurement? Contact the Logistics Cluster environment team at: Global.WREC@wfp.org