The UBC TALKS webinar on 26 November 2024 explored various approaches to green public procurement and best practices from four Baltic Sea region capitals: Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, and Stockholm.
The webinar opened with a presentation from Anne Lagerqvist, City of Stockholm, explaining the concept of the green public procurement, and what it should cover, based on the experiences and findings from the ChemClimCircle project. Anne also presented the case Stockholm: Political decisions, guidance, and action plans. Afterwards, Satu Turula from the City of Helsinki shared the case of applying GPP in Helsinki, with a presentation "Circular, non-toxic and climate friendly ICT equipment – mission impossible?".
Procurement can be a powerful tool for cities to be more sustainable, including the reduction of hazardous substances. Normunds Vagalis from the City of Riga introduced criteria for avoidance of hazardous substances, as well as experiences and findings from NonHazCity 3 project, and the case Riga on renovation of social housing. The concluding intervention featured an inspirational talk by Liina Kanarbik from the City of Tallinn, on regulating the use of single-use plastic – focusing on guidelines and green events criteria in Tallinn, used as a case study in the BALTIPLAST project.