Sustainable Procurement in Fragile States

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that sustainable public procurement can serve as a catalyst for peacebuilding, nation-building, and sustainable economic growth in fragile states. It highlights the significant proportion of government expenditure dedicated to procurement in these contexts and suggests that using this purchasing power to favor environmentally and socially sustainable goods can mitigate risks, combat corruption, and build local industrial capacity.

• Public procurement represents a significantly higher proportion of government expenditure in fragile states compared to developed regions. While the European Union's public spending was 19 per cent of total GDP in 2010 and the OECD average was 12 per cent, procurement in fragile states can account for 60 to 70 per cent of all government expenditure, with specific examples including 70.19 per cent in East Timor and 65.9 per cent in Swaziland.
• Sustainable public procurement can act as a risk mitigation strategy in fragile environments by requiring higher levels of transparency, accountability, and dialogue between the public and private sectors. This approach can help balance fiduciary and development risks against opportunities for sustainable economic growth and social cohesion.
• The implementation of sustainable procurement can combat bribery and corruption in fragile states by increasing scrutiny over the deployment of large funds and requiring more disclosure during tendering processes. This addresses the risk of government contracts being used as income streams for political cronyism.
• Sustainable procurement is presented as a cost-effective method for building local industrial capacity and triggering the growth of domestic entrepreneurs. By providing market certainty, it encourages investment in education, skills building, and the competitiveness of infant industries.
• Implementing sustainable procurement in fragile states faces significant challenges, including opposition from vested interests in the domestic economy and the tendency to rely on "quick fixes" or single-sourcing contracts due to weak institutional systems.
• To successfully implement sustainable procurement, the report recommends conducting readiness assessments. These assessments should analyze the country's political economy, existing procurement and finance reforms, and the availability of early markets for green goods and services.
• The IISD is expanding its work on sustainable procurement to fragile states, including a June 2012 project in Mozambique to assess legal, institutional, and market preparedness.

APA

Perera, O., & Colverson, S. (2012). Sustainable Procurement in Fragile States. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/procurement_fragile_states.pdf

Chicago

Perera, Oshani, and Samuel Colverson. Sustainable Procurement in Fragile States. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/procurement_fragile_states.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Perera |first1=Oshani |last2=Colverson |first2=Samuel |title=Sustainable Procurement in Fragile States |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/procurement_fragile_states.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{perera2012sustainable, author = {Perera, Oshani and Colverson, Samuel}, title = {{Sustainable Procurement in Fragile States}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/procurement_fragile_states.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }