Green Public Procurement is aimed at preventing environmental pollutions and reducing the use of natural resources, while stimulating the market on green products. Public institutions are mandated by the Act on Promotion of Purchase of Green Products to purchase green products.
| Scope of green products (Act on Promotion of Purchase of Green Products, Article 2-2) | - Products subject to Eco-label certification
pursuant to Article 17, Paragraph 1 of the Environmental
Technology and Industry Support Act, or products conforming
to the certification standards set for each product by the
Minister of Environment as prescribed in Paragraph 3 of the
same article; - Items subject to recycled product quality certification as prescribed by the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, pursuant to Article 33 of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources and Article 17 of the Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Technology Innovation Promotion Act; as in, certified products or products meeting certification standards; - Other green products that conform to the certification standards and/or criteria per item agreed upon by the Minister of Environment and other relevant ministers. |
|---|---|
| Establishment of basic green product purchase promotion plans (Article 4, Article 7) | - The Minister of Environment shall establish
five-year basic green product purchase promotion plans, and
one-year green product purchasing guidelines; and, - Organize a green product purchase promotion committee to review important matters associated with the basic plans and purchasing guidelines. |
| Duties of public institutions to purchase green products (Article 3, Article 6, Article 8) | - When green products are available that meet the
needs of the items to be purchased by public institutions,
it is mandated that the green products be purchased. * However, in cases in which the purchase of green products leads to a significant reduction in quality or unstable supply, or if there is an urgent need and a green product is not readily available, etc., institutions shall be exempt from mandatory purchases. - The government requires that each institution establishes an annual green product purchasing plan and publishes the results of the plan, so that all public institutions can be held accountable for their green product purchases. |
| Cooperation to promote the purchase of green products (Article 10) | - The Minister of Environment shall ask the heads
of respective public institutes to take appropriate actions
to promote the purchase of green products
* Reflect regulations for green product use in
construction designs, etc. |
| Enactment of ordinances (Article 11) | - In the event that it is necessary for local governments to promote the purchase of green products, the relevant special metropolitan city, metropolitan city, province, city, county or district shall create and enact the necessary ordinance. |
| Support for the promotion of purchasing green products (Article 15) | - Provide information for promoting the purchase of
green products, support for the fostering of experts,
support for domestic and foreign sales and certifications
for green products - Award public institutes, businesses, and relevant organizations, etc. that have an outstanding green product purchasing history or that have contributed to the promotion of green product purchasing |
| Direct purchases of goods by public institutions | - Purchases of green products via Public
Procurement Service - Purchases of green products directly made by the respective institutions |
|---|---|
| Purchases through service contracts | - Printing: Printing paper purchased by printing
businesses - Cleaning services: Toilet paper, detergent, soap, etc. purchased by cleaning service businesses - Building maintenance and repairs: Fluorescent lights, faucets, toilets, etc. purchased by building maintenance and repair businesses - Office appliance maintenance/repair: Printers, toner cartridges, etc. purchased by office appliance repair and maintenance businesses - Other services including the purchase of green products: Green products purchased by service companies |
| Purchases made through public works | - Use of eco-friendly construction materials for public construction projects, taking into consideration the characteristics of the construction project/site and appropriate application of green products, etc. |
| Governing Institution | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| The Ministry of Environment (MoE) |
- Overall management of the GPP policy, definition
of strategic goals and priorities - Establishment and monitoring of regular five-year action plans for the deployment of the Act |
| Public Procurement Service (PPS) |
- Operation of the Korean Online E-Procurement
System (KONEPS) to facilitate actual purchase of green
products - Compilation of procurement records of public institutions - Communication of green products information provided by KEITI to public institutions |
| TKorea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) |
- Central role in GPP Implementation - Management of the Green Procurement Information System (GPIS-I, https://www.greenproduct.go.kr/gd/) and the Green Product Information System (GPIS-II, http://www.greenproduct.go.kr/) - Provision of education and awareness raising on GPP - Monitoring and evaluation of GPP records and performance - Transfer of know-how both nationally and internationally - Cooperation with stakeholders including other ministries, NGOs, research institutes and business |
| Public institutions | - Development of an annual implementation plan with
voluntary targets for GPP and institutionalization of GPP
in their own organization - Monitoring and reporting of green purchase records to MoE annually - Designation of a Green Procurement Official within their own organization (since 2013) |