Green public procurement
The Government considers environmental sustainability when it buys goods and services. Green public procurement helps reduce the public sector’s carbon emissions and plays a significant role in Singapore’s transition to a greener economy. It encourages suppliers to develop more environmentally sustainable solutions – while continuing to uphold the key procurement principles of value for money, open and fair competition and transparency.
Last updated on 26 October 2026
Why green public procurement?
Green public procurement is an important lever under the “Enable” pillar of GreenGov.SG (opens in new tab) It helps the public sector to drive sustainability at scale by incorporating environmental sustainability considerations into procurement decisions. The public sector can thereby encourage suppliers to improve their environmental performance and accelerate the availability of greener goods and services across the economy.
Green public procurement supports the nation’s net-zero target by 2050. It encourages the development of greener capabilities across the market, while upholding the guiding principle of value for money. Green public procurement thereby contributes to Singapore’s commitments under the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
What has the government done thus far?
The public sector has progressively incorporated environmental sustainability considerations into its procurements since 2007.
By targeting large purchases in sectors with greater environmental impacts such as construction and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), over 60% of government procurements by contract value now incorporate environmental sustainability considerations.
Scope of green procurement today
Today, the scope of green procurement covers the following nine categories:
Accommodation, event venues & management services
Electrical and electronic equipment
Landscaping
Building design and building products
ICT equipment
Printing paper
Public waste collection and cleaning services
Vehicles
Water fittings and equipment
The government will continuously review whether environmental sustainability considerations can be extended to other applicable government procurement in a manner that keeps pace with industry readiness and international developments.
What is Singapore’s green public procurement approach?
Singapore strives to incorporate environmental sustainability considerations into procurement decisions in a practical and calibrated way. These considerations are applied in line with the core procurement principles of value-for-money, open and fair competition, and transparency.
Environmental sustainability considerations are included into public procurement through two main mechanisms:
Requirements in specifications
Where appropriate, environmental sustainability requirements may be built into the specifications or contract conditions. These requirements set the minimum standards that suppliers must meet for a bid to be eligible, ensuring baseline environmental standards for the relevant goods and services purchased.
Evaluation criteria
Environmental standards may be factored into the evaluation criteria when assessing bids. This allows bids to be differentiated based on green solutions or stronger sustainability-related practices, without necessarily disqualifying suppliers that do not exceed the baseline requirements.
Examples where environmental sustainability considerations are applied in applicable procurements include:
Green standards and labels
These are accepted certifications and ratings which set the benchmark for selected categories of goods and services. These, amongst others, include ENERGY STAR (opens in new tab), NEA’s Energy Label (opens in new tab), PUB’s Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS) (opens in new tab), the Singapore Green Label (opens in new tab), and the BCA Green Mark Certification scheme (opens in new tab).
For instance, all new and existing public sector buildings are required to attain BCA’s Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy (SLE) standards, and new ICT equipment is to meet the prevailing ENERGY STAR standards.
Awarding evaluation points for environmental sustainability considerations
Up to 5% of the evaluation score in qualifying tenders has been set aside for environmental sustainability considerations, e.g. in large-value construction and ICT tenders, ensuring that they are weighted alongside price and quality.
This guideline will soon include event venue and event management services tenders from 1 October 2026.
Life-cycle costing
In some tenders, environmental sustainability considerations are assessed across the total cost of ownership over the asset’s life, including operating, energy, maintenance and disposal costs, which are weighted alongside the price of purchase. This allows the government and agencies to make procurement decisions that deliver longer-term value-for-money even where the upfront cost is higher.
One example is the government’s commitment to procuring only clean-energy vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions. By making greener choices across the full lifecycle of its assets, the government can reduce carbon emissions at applicable stages, supporting the public sector’s commitment to achieving a net-zero future.
How is progress reported?
The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) publishes the GreenGov.SG (opens in new tab) report annually, setting out the public sector’s progress against its sustainability targets.