TBILISI: All projects financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will take sustainability into account, ADB Deputy Director General and Chief Procurement Officer of ADB’s Procurement, Portfolio and Financial Management Division, Jeff Taylor said, Trend reports.
He made the statement during the panel discussion on “Sustainable Procurement – Contributing to ADB’s Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Goals” on the sidelines of ADB’s annual meeting.
“We are a financial institution; we provide money, and this can be through loans, grants, guarantees, and other financing mechanisms for climate change mitigation. We will use that money to implement sustainable development and sustainable procurement strategies, which will partially underpin everything we do in procurement,” he said.
Taylor noted that the second way the bank has tried to make a positive contribution is through technical expertise.
“There is a very rich conversation going on right now on sustainable procurement, and I’m pleased that ADB is l
eading the way on this. We are building our capacity to participate and contribute to sustainable procurement,” he said.
Taylor emphasized that old-fashioned procurement was very process-oriented and limited to the flow of bids.
“Unlike old-fashioned procurement, sustainable procurement requires a holistic approach, looking at not just the transactional process but also the project’s design. The benefits of sustainable procurement are very clear. It also includes an economic competitive advantage for societies. It’s about economic and social development, circular economic benefits, better governance, and improving the country’s supply chain and sustainability,” he concluded.
To note, the theme for the 57th Annual Meeting to be held from 2 to 5 May, is ‘Bridge to the Future’.
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.
Source: Trend News Agency