Public procurement of green goods and services has the power to send strong market signals, help environmentally preferable goods and services find their first customer, and ease their diffusion in the market. Despite procurement’s enormous potential to advance Canada’s environmental goals, and discussions over the last few decades around ways to reform public procurement, procurement remains an underused tool for growing Canada’s green economy.

This webinar from Smart Prosperity Institute was unearthed where the real challenges lie when it comes to the federal government’s procurement of cleantech. The discussion approached procurement decisions as the outcome of formal decision-making processes and systems, rather than the actions of individuals within these systems. This webinar brought forth nuanced and contextualized understanding of how procurement takes place, how decisions are made, and what policy interventions could be most effective in the Canadian context.

This event featured conversations with procurement experts, and the report’s authors explored insights from Buying Better: Leveraging Federal Procurement to Drive Demand for Canadian Cleantech. The webinar helped policymakers and advocates design effective policy interventions for reforming public procurement.

This event will build on the report, Buying Better: Leveraging Federal Procurement to Drive Demand for Canadian Cleantech published by Smart Prosperity Institute in January 2022.