Evaluating Green Public Procurement Practices: The Case of Polytechnics in Ghana

Abstract

The paper introduces and develops a green public procurement practices (GPPP) analytical framework for the Ghanaian Public Sector involving six major practices including Acquisition and Material Specification Planning, Environmental Requirements, Green Purchasing, Strategic Supplier Partnership, Green Information & Communication Technology, and Employee Training. The study involved five Polytechnics in Ghana selected using random sampling and ten public procurement professionals from the five selected Polytechnics using a hybrid of convenient and purposeful sampling techniques. The data for the study was obtained using questionnaires and interviews techniques. A grey-based DEMATEL technique, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) tool,was utilized to help identify the most influential major practice and important sub-practice in terms of the overall goal of achieving green economy. The MCDM tool revealed that ‘Strategic Supplier Partnership’ is the most influential major practice whilst ‘Review of Material needs to include Green Procurement Requirements’ was identified as the most important sub-practice. For the first time, a MCDM tool is utilized to identify the most influential and important GPPP for implementation in Ghanaian public sector. Finally, the paper will allow public sector procurement professionals to make thoughtful decisions on products and service purchases with a focus on environmental and societal consequences to achieve sustainable development.