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Tshwane announced as new chair of Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement

13 September 2018 00:00 - San Francisco, USA

Executive Mayor of Tshwane, South Africa, Solly Msimanga is announced as the new chair of ICLEI’s Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement (GLCN) at the Global Climate Action Summit.

The GLCN is a group of 14 cities from around the globe committed to the implementation of sustainable and innovation procurement. Their goal is to support the transition to a low carbon, resource efficient and socially responsible society.

Launched by ICLEI in 2015 and developed under the leadership of the network's first chair Mayor Park Won-Soon of Seoul, South Korea, the GLCN will be chaired by Tshwane for the next 3 years. This will ensure the continuity of the GLCN's successful record of setting and making progress towards ambitious targets and championing sustainable procurement across the globe.

Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Councillor Solly Msimanga stated "it is a privilege to become the new chair of this group of global cities, and continue the GLCN's important work in mainstreaming sustainability into cities' operations. Sustainable procurement is a powerful way that we as cities can directly 'take ambition to the next level' and demand climate neutrality from the goods and services we spend public money on."

As an early leader in sustainable procurement in Africa, the City of Tshwane was an obvious choice to lead in the next phase of the GLCN. Tshwane’s long term strategic vision commits itself to a path of sustainable economic growth decoupled from environmental impacts, and Tshwane has recently set targets to make 40% of the city bus fleet green by 2030, and 10% of Tshwane's overall purchases sustainable by 2021. Further, Tshwane has a clear political interest in exploring the 100% renewable energy pathway, and has a target to reach 20% renewable energy at community-scale by 2030. Achieving this means investing in renewable energy projects and technologies, and requiring a robust sustainable energy procurement approach.

Public procurement is an essential tool to support climate neutrality ambitions. Procurement makes up a significant proportion of public expenditure. An average of 15 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) is spent through public procurement systems each year, amounting to over $10 trillion. By buying climate neutral or fossil free products and services, local and national governments can reduce their own footprints while also steering the wider economy towards environmentally appropriate solutions.

English

2018