Scopes and challenges Of sustainable procurement In Public Works Department (PWD), Bangladesh

Abstract

Sustainability is a major concern these days whenever we are making a purchase or procurement. This is a global issue and having Sustainable Development Goals ahead of us, everyone would like to consider social, environmental and economic impacts of procurement. Public works department is one of the largest public procurement agencies in Bangladesh. Since Bangladesh is a densely populated country and is a developing country. So the implementation of any project has environmental impact on this country as a whole and also specifically in that region. The working conditions of the labors, construction process pose a great challenge to ensure sustainability in public procurement in this department. So, ensuring sustainability has a great scope and also equal challenge in this large and historical department. The study is carried out among entry level and mid level procurement professionals who are engaged in procurement and implementation of different government projects at that moment. It is found that the procurement method has no sustainability (neither environmental nor social) indicator while choosing contractor. The choice is made on the basis of “Lowest Bidder” only. Also, there are some loopholes in the contract management and implementation stage. The professionals lack adequate knowledge in sustainability issues and this sector needs deeper insight.