MANILA - The Procurement Service (PS), the purchasing arm of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), has convened a committee tasked to pursue and implement "Green Public Procurement (GPP)" in the Philippine government. In a news release on Sunday, PS-DBM executive director Dennis Santiago said the establishment of an Inter-Agency Technical Specifications Review Committee (IATSCR) will allow the agency to assess, review and evaluate existing Common-Use Supplies and Equipment (CSE) Technical Specifications to adhere to and comply with local and international standards. CSEs, which are items essential to the government's daily operations, include ballpens, papers, staplers, paper clips and folders that are procured from the PS-DBM on a quarterly basis. The IATSCR will also take into account the environmental, social and economic aspects of public acquisition, alongside Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production. "The establishment of an Inter-Agency Technical Specifications Review Committee is one of the reform initiatives we spearheaded in PS-DBM to take government procurement to a sustainable track," Santiago said. The GPP is a process wherein public authorities seek to procure goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle. Its strategy is to harmoniously integrate green practices into the existing procurement processes. "GPP provides an opportunity for government agencies to infuse environmentally friendly parameters and requirements in the products that we procure, and in the process avoid the use of toxic substances; prioritize alternative green materials; reduce energy and water consumption during use; and recycle at the end of the useful life of the product," Santiago added. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, meanwhile, commended Santiago, citing how green procurement also means "responsible procurement." "Integrating green choices in public procurement puts us closer to our ultimate goal of ensuring sustainable management and use of natural resources by 2030," Pangandaman said. Apart from PS-DBM, the members of the IATSRC include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Energy. Established on Oct. 18, 1978, the PS-DBM is mandated to operate a centralized procurement of CSE for the whole of the government. (PNA) }