Increasing demand from environment-conscious consumers coupled with new government regulations in many countries now force enterprises to take responsibility for the entire product/service life cycle. Enterprises thus have no choice but to green their supply chains, in which green procurement plays an important role. Companies that practice green procurement emphasize compliance with environmental standards in making purchasing decisions.

A study meeting on Green Procurement and Green Supply Chains was held in Taipei, Republic of China, 30 October–2 November, to discuss the mechanisms of green procurement in the context of APO member countries, with special attention to sustainable development through green supply chains. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the APO and Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China and assisted by the China Productivity Center, Taiwan Environmental Management Association, and Foundation of Taiwan Industry Service.

It provided a forum for sharing information on such related issues as the impacts of the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) directives in the Asian context, allowing the 13 international participants from eight member countries and five local participants to develop recommendations on appropriate policy measures, implementing methodologies, and planning tools.

The four-day meeting heard presentations by three international resource persons, Professor Hideki Nakahara, Musashi Institute of Technology, Japan, Mr. Rakesh Baweja, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, India, and Professor Kun Mo Lee, Ajou University, Republic of Korea, as well as by two local resource persons, Dr. Yuh-Ming Lee from the Institute of Natural Resource Management, National Taipei University, and Managing Director Dr. Yu Ning, Environment and Development Foundation, on various issues and challenges related to green procurement and green supply chains in the APO region. The participants had opportunities to exchange information on the national status of green procurement and green supply chains through the country paper presentations. They also visited Ling Haw Technology Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of plastics well known for its green supply chain practices.