Promoting Sustainable Enterprises | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

Promoting sustainable enterprises is at the heart of the mandate of the ILO. Many enterprises have adopted policies governing labour and employment aspects of their operations, including supply chains, as part of their longer-term sustainability strategies.

Meanwhile, many governments are introducing laws and policies to stimulate responsible business practices. The ILO is hosting the annual Inter-agency Roundtable on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which focuses this year on how governments are promoting responsible business conduct through sustainable public procurement (SPP).

Public procurement represents 13 per cent of GDP in OECD countries and comprises 15-25 per cent in non-OECD States. This means that governments are major buyers and can significantly impact market demand for responsible and sustainable business practices.

The concept of linking public procurement to other government policy objectives is not new, but concerns about protectionism and lack of transparency had impeded the use and development of SPP. Trade-related objections to SPP have largely been overcome and debates focus no longer on whether to use SPPs but rather on how to put them in practice.

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