green technology and eco-products and services, thereby, contributing to green growth and showcasing Malaysia as a green-technology hub. To further entrench Malaysia as a green hub, exhibitions such as the IGEM, should be held regularly. This would require government support in the initial years before the exhibitions become self-financing. Also, continued government endorsement will be critical for the success of these exhibitions.
Recycling Recycling is now an essential part of manufacturing and green procurement. Large international buyers are stipulating to suppliers to produce goods with a certain percentage of recycled items. This is part of green procurement and the green supply-chain process. To ensure the greening of the supply chain and, consequently, the competitiveness of Malaysian manufacturing industries, incentives should be given to promote recycling. Waste as a resource for production Waste is now being dumped in legal and illegal landfills. This is a loss to the country, as the waste still contains some of the natural resources that had originally gone into producing the goods. As such, waste should be treated as a raw material for production. This not only assists green growth but also supports sustainable development efforts, creates green jobs and increases the national GDP. It will also reduce Malaysia’s imports of certain raw materials, thus saving on foreign exchange.
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Government-private sector partnership As part of its broader policy agenda, developing effective partnerships with different parties is important to advance greener-procurement thinking and practices. Currently, there is a lack of consensus building. Hence, it is important that the government fosters effective dialogue among the parties that can move the green agenda further. One such dialogue that the government can institute, is the greenpurchasing forum with appropriate private-sector involvement. Through this forum, the stakeholders could share information on green technology, products and services, leverage on collective purchasing power and, ultimately, develop common procurement standards based on best practices. GREEN PURCHASING : THE NEW GROWTH FRONTIER
These standards could then be used by all levels of government to provide suppliers with greater certainty and consistency in developing greener products and services. Workshops are important for participants from private-sector organisations and suppliers to come together to better understand different perspectives in accelerating the progress in greener government purchasing. These partnerships and meetings are also beneficial because, governments, at different levels, learn from the experiences of others. By exchanging valuable tools and best practices, governments can save time and money by minimising the duplication of effort. Moreover, such exchanges can also help to gradually raise the bar of overall performance across governments. Other initiatives at forging government-private sector partnerships in promoting green growth include: • Forging additional partnerships with other industry and non-governmental organisations to design and develop greener goods and services; and • Promoting greater collaboration with agencies and organisations to better leverage government purchasing power and to develop shared performance indicators in assessing the efficacy of governmental procurement strategies.
Reduction in carbon emission Climate change is another important procurement issue. Malaysia has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 40 per cent below the 2005 level by 2020. A national implementation strategy will ensure that all sectors of the economy — government, private sector, NGOs and the public — are involved in achieving the targets. Establishment of an environmentallegislation database An environmental-legislation database can inform investors about the regulations concerning the environment even before they invest in Malaysia. The government can work with organisations, such as the GPNM, to develop this infrastructure (laws, supply-chain requirements, etc) online, to assist investors in understanding quickly the issues