Measuring the Benefits of Green Public Procurement in Canada: Evidence from the IISD GPP Model

Key Messages

• Green public procurement (GPP) is about optimizing value for money across the life cycle for taxpayers. 
• The IISD GPP Model measures the costs and benefits of purchasing green buildings, vehicles, cement and steel compared to a business-as-usual scenario. 
• The model demonstrates that GPP has significant benefits for the Canadian taxpayer.  
• The results of this assessment provide procurers and policy-makers in Canada with the knowledge to make public procurement a strategic tool for implementing an inclusive, low-carbon economy.

What if public procurement of buildings, cement, steel and vehicles were sustainable? What would be the cost of shifting toward sustainable procurement in these major areas of public spending? And what would be the benefits, in financial terms and in environmental, social and economic value?

IISD developed a simulation model to answer these questions for public procurement in Canada. The Green Public Procurement (GPP) Model for Canada simulates the financial, economic, social and environmental values associated with the procurement of sustainable buildings, cement and steel for public infrastructure, and vehicles in Canada. It simulates these costs and benefits for buildings, cement, steel and vehicles procured by the Canadian federal government over a timeline from 2016 to 2035 across business-as-usual and sustainable scenarios.