OECD Public Procurement Week: Business Underlines Importance of Wider Tools and Data

Members of our global network were active in the OECD's Public Procurement Week in discussions on using public procurement as a strategic lever to support competitiveness of national economies, including its impact on trade, and supply chain resiliency. Our Governance and Regulatory Policy Committee Vice-Chair and Ibec's Aidan Sweeney recommended to the OECD that their agenda should include quantifying and communicating the impact that government procurement policies have on public expenditures and international trade flows. He underlined that these insights can foster better policy choices, ensuring efficient procurement practices that balance domestic priorities with international trade commitments. He also stated that the OECD should also look to reinforce work on government procurement activities and provide tangible recommendations to safeguard non–discrimination of foreign bidders. Our Vice-Chair also explained that the OECD should look at tools for effective legal remedies in public procurement and undertake work to examine the importance of mediation and the role of trust.

Far right: BASF's Alessandro Pistillo also joined the discussions.

BASF's Alessandro Pistillo also joined discussions on supply chain resiliency, where he outlined key challenges in achieving true supply chain transparency and driving change; the importance of horizontal harmonisation of metrics and sustainability assessment methods which are fundamental to making data truly meaningful and reducing complexity, and the digitalisation of data generation and exchange which is crucial for affordability. Above all, he stated it is imperative to create an economic incentive for small and big enterprises to compete on the basis of sustainability claims, by means of effective market-pull mechanisms.