Policy framework for Greening of Government

It is important that Australian Government agencies demonstrate leadership to the Australian community by developing their own EMS as a step towards adopting best practice in managing environmental performance.

The Australian Government is also seeking to be at the forefront in environmental purchasing practice through:

buying goods and services that seek to minimise possible environmental impact;
working with industry to encourage continuous reduction in the adverse environmental impact of goods and services; and
assessing the environmental impact of goods and services against informed and internationally recognised standards and methods.

The Government expects that good environmental practice will generate cost savings and therefore decided on 8 May 2001 that Chief Executives of all Australian Government departments and agencies should be encouraged to:

join the Greenhouse Challenge Program; and
develop an Environment Management System (EMS) by December 2002 and accredit at least one major site by December 2003.

The information on this site offers departmental officers information and resources to develop environmental purchasing and other EMS initiatives in their organisations.

Key Policies for Greening of Government

Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act

Under section 516(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act), Australian Government agencies have annual reporting obligations that require documentation of the effect of their actions on the environment. Agencies need to identify steps taken to minimise the impact of those actions and mechanisms for reviewing and increasing the effectiveness of mitigating measures.

In particular, the Act requires that Australian Government agencies include information about their performance against Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) principles in their annual reports. The reports must include how the administration of legislation and actions by the agency, during the period, accorded with the principles of ESD and identify how the outcomes contribute to ESD.

An EMS (incorporating environmental purchasing practices), should help agencies more easily fulfill their reporting obligations and contribute to the protection of the environment.

The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts has developed a guide for reporting under the EPBC Act, which is available from http://www.deh.gov.au/esd/national/epbc/index.html.

Energy Efficiency in Government Operations

In September 2006, the Australian Government announced it's Energy Efficiency in Government Operations (EEGO) policy, which aims to further reduce the energy consumption of Australian Government agencies, placing particular emphasis on maximising building energy efficiency. EEGO updates the 1997 policy Measures for Improving Energy Efficiency in Commonwealth Operations.

More information about EEGO is available at: www.greenhouse.gov.au/government

Greenhouse Challenge Plus

The Australian Government has encouraged agencies to demonstrate their commitment to energy efficiency and greenhouse reduction by joining Greenhouse Challenge Plus - a highly successful partnership between industry and government to reduce greenhouse gases.

By joining Greenhouse Challenge Plus agencies may cut costs, boost productivity and build competitive advantage. The Australian Greenhouse Office offers to assist agencies develop the technical capacity to better manage greenhouse gas emissions for the long term.

The National Packaging Covenant

The National Packaging Covenant is a self-regulatory agreement between industry in the packaging chain and all spheres of government that promotes a product stewardship and life cycle approach to address packaging waste.

As a signatory to the National Packaging Covenant, the Australian Government has agreed to undertake a number of actions including reducing waste through improved purchasing.

The Australian Government has undertaken to:

produce an action plan for evaluating and improving environmental outcomes in the use and recovery of packaging materials;
apply the principles of the Covenant in Australian Government operations;
identify and seek to remove barriers to the purchase of recycled goods; and
facilitate the implementation of purchasing policies for recycled goods.

Agencies are therefore obliged to develop a purchasing policy that fosters the purchase of recycled goods and to improve environmental outcomes through the use and recovery of recycled packaging. The implementation of suggestions contained in this website will help agencies meet their obligations in these areas. Further information on the Australian Government's Covenant obligations can be obtained from npc@environment.gov.au.

The Australian Government's current Action Plan for 2002-2004 is available at http://www.packcoun.com.au/ActionPlans/Govt/ap_Govt_Commonwealth_Y1P.pdf

National Government Waste Reduction and Purchasing Guidelines

The Australian, State and Territory governments endorsed the National Government Waste Reduction and Purchasing Guidelines at the November 1996 Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) meeting. Progress against these Guidelines was reviewed in 1998.

ANZECC members agreed to undertake a range of actions to maximise their contribution to the achievement of national waste reduction, by ensuring that their own agencies work towards the agreed waste minimisation targets, including through appropriate purchasing policies, cleaner production and recycling.

Australian Government agencies should therefore seek to develop contracts and agreements with waste management providers that are environmentally sensitive and comply with the National Waste Reduction and Purchasing Guidelines. The implementation of information contained on this website will assist officers in this regard.

Whole of Life Policy

The Australian Government requires departments and agencies to be aware of relevant government policy, including environment and whole-of-life issues when formulating purchasing requirements, specifications and requests for offer as part of the procurement process.

For example, these may require that goods and services:

comply with occupational health and safety requirements;
meet environmental best practice in energy efficiency and/or consumption;
are environmentally sound in manufacture, use and disposal;
are reusable or recyclable, designed for ease of recycling, re-manufacture or otherwise minimise waste; and
are designed and made for reliability, long life and easy upgrading or updating;

Bidders may also be asked to provide information on any other environmental benefits of their goods and services and how they currently assess the environmental impact of those goods and services.

Whole of life considerations are key green procurement measures and should form part of a green purchasing policy.

Environment Industries Action Agenda

The work on greening of government also supports a key recommendation of the Australian Government's Action Agenda for the Environment Industry. Strategy 6 ("Valuing and Pricing the Environment") reads:

Industry and government to work together to ensure that private and public tendering practices and purchasing decisions are based on best practice purchasing guidelines that are outcomes based and take account of the ecological footprint of goods and services.

Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

The Plan of Implementation agreed to by the Australian government at the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) includes specific reference to sustainability in public purchasing:

18. Encourage relevant authorities at all levels to take sustainable development considerations into account in decision-making, including on national and local development planning, investment in infrastructure, business development and public procurement. This would include actions at all levels to:

Provide support for the development of sustainable development strategies and programmes, including in decision-making on investment in infrastructure and business development;
Continue to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the costs of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment;
Promote public procurement policies that encourage development and diffusion of environmentally sound goods and services;
Provide capacity-building and training to assist relevant authorities with regard to the implementation of the initiatives listed in the present paragraph;
Use environmental impact assessment procedures.

Australia's obligations under 18(c) of the Plan of Implementation will be partially acquitted by the provision of tools for environmental purchasing.

OECD Council Recommendation

There is also an OECD Council Recommendation on "Improving the Environmental Performance of Public Procurement" [C(2002)3]. It relates to

Measures which encourage the incorporation of environmental criteria into public procurement of products and services, along with price and performance criteria;
The introduction of financial, budgeting, and accounting measures to ensure that public procurement policies and practices consider the environmental costs of products and services;
The provision of information, training, tools and technical assistance to officials involved in the public procurement and use chain; and,
The establishment of procedures for the identification of products and services that meet the objectives of greener public purchasing policies.

The scope of the environmental purchasing project addresses each aspect of the OECD Council Recommendation.