Rebuilding After Disasters: Why sustainable public procurement can be a practical policy

The report advocates for the adoption of sustainable public procurement (SPP) during post-disaster and post-conflict reconstruction. It highlights that the high volume of public spending during these periods—often ranging from 2% to 15% of annual GDP for recovery—can be used to signal long-term demand for green goods and services, stimulate private sector innovation, and build domestic capacity for sustainable production. The author provides evidence that integrating sustainability into infrastructure rebuilding, such as mangrove conservation in Vietnam or flood-resistant works in China, significantly reduces future disaster losses and improves resilience. However, the report notes that implementation is often hindered by a lack of dedicated SPP laws and political instability in lower-income economies.

• Public procurement represents a significant portion of national budgets, spending between 45% and 65% of budgets on procurement. This translates to 13% to 17% of GDP in high-income countries, and higher percentages in others: 35% in South Africa, 43% in India, and 47% in Brazil.
• The World Bank estimates that recovery and rebuilding costs following natural disasters average between 2% and 15% of an exposed country's annual GDP.
• Sustainable public procurement can drive market growth and innovation for green products. Examples include the U.S. federal government's purchase of green electronics in the 1990s leading to the Energy Star label, and public sector demand for Fair Trade Mark foods in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium increasing demand by 11% annually from 2003 to 2008.
• Integrating sustainability into disaster risk reduction and infrastructure provides high cost-benefit ratios and reduces future losses. In China, US$3.15 billion spent on flood-resistant infrastructure and mangrove/dune conservation between 1970 and 2000 averted approximately US$12 billion in losses. In Vietnam, a mangrove conservation project from 1994 to 2001 yielded annual net benefits of US$7.2 million with a cost-benefit ratio of 5:2.
• Implementing SPP in post-conflict and post-disaster settings faces challenges, specifically the absence of dedicated SPP laws and policies in lower-income economies and the presence of political instability.

APA

Perera, O. (2011). Rebuilding After Disasters: Why sustainable public procurement can be a practical policy. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rebuilding_after_disasters.pdf

Chicago

Perera, Oshani. Rebuilding After Disasters: Why sustainable public procurement can be a practical policy. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2011. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rebuilding_after_disasters.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Perera |first1=Oshani |title=Rebuilding After Disasters: Why sustainable public procurement can be a practical policy |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rebuilding_after_disasters.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{perera2011rebuilding, author = {Perera, Oshani}, title = {{Rebuilding After Disasters: Why sustainable public procurement can be a practical policy}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rebuilding_after_disasters.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }