TBILISI, Georgia, May 3. Procurement can have a much more fundamental transformative impact, ADB Vice President for Administration and Corporate Management Bruce Gosper said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at a panel discussion on the topic “Sustainable Procurement – Contributing to ADB’s Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Goals" at the annual meeting of ADB in Tbilisi.
According to him, the "Bridge to the Future" is a significant issue that concerns everyone, including the Asian Development Bank, and is part of a broader set of issues that our region is currently facing.
"Floods, droughts, and billions of fires caused damage totaling more than $1.5 trillion from 1991 through 2020. As a result, the bank has set its sights on becoming the regional climate bank. Last year alone, in 2023, we committed $10.7 billion to climate finance, which is an important contribution to meeting our $100 billion commitment by 2030,” the official explained.
According to Gosper, procurement could have a much more fundamentally transformative impact if it somehow contributed to economic resilience.
“We spend over $9 billion a year on procurement, and the decisions we make on these matters have fundamental consequences. They must provide value for money and produce the correct product at the right price, but how we do this can have far-reaching consequences. We take into account things like climate impact and carbon footprint.
Economies prioritizing sustainability reduce their operational risks. They benefit from best-in-class technology. We see new technologies emerging every day, and they become more competitive in the market.
Thus, sustainable procurement can play a critical role not only in addressing some of the big challenges we face but of course, in ensuring that we enable communities to benefit more deeply from the money that is spent on these kinds of efforts," he added.
The 57th Annual Meeting will have the theme "Bridge to the Future" from May 2 through May 5.
The opening session of the Board of Governors will take place on May 4. The opening session marks the official start of the annual meeting. It is a high-profile event attended by the guest of honor from the host country. Remarks will be made by ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and the Minister of Finance of Georgia and Chair of the ADB Board of Governors, Lasha Khutsishvili.
The Annual Meeting is an opportunity for ADB Governors to consider development issues and challenges facing Asia and the Pacific. Several thousand participants, including finance ministers, central bank governors, senior government officials, members of the private sector, representatives of international organizations and civil society organizations, youth, academia, and the media, regularly join the meeting.
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