International Symposium on Green Purchasing Held

The International Symposium on Green Purchasing was held in Tokyo, December 11 and 12, 2003 under the theme of "Green purchasing will change the world: Major trends in Europe, America and Asia." The symposium attracted a large audience, showing the high level of interest in this topic.

On the first day, after a greeting from ministerial secretaries of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of the Environment, Mr. Kakutaro Kitashiro, chairman of Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) and chairman of IBM Japan, gave a keynote speech entitled "Globalization and Environmental Management: Toward an increasingly large green market." A representative from the European Commission spoke on "Green Public Procurement in the European Union," followed by case studies from local municipalities, NGOs and companies in North America, Europe, and Asia, including Japan.

On the second day, the International Workshop on Green Purchasing was held with the theme of "Greening the Supply Chain: Global Trends and Perspectives in Asia." Presentations of case studies from Asian countries and the subsequent panel discussion examined green purchasing initiatives from the viewpoints of sellers and buyers, as well as the future of these activities in Asia.

In Japan, the Green Purchasing Law was enacted in 2000. Many companies have made progress with their green procurement activities, seeing such initiatives as one of the keys to their future competitive advantage. This international symposium was the first major attempt to expand green purchasing through supply chains in Asia while learning from the advanced activities in Europe.

The 1st International Conference on Green Purchasing is scheduled to take place in Sendai, Japan, on October 6 and 7, 2004. This conference is expected to push a shift toward a sustainable society by utilizing the power of green purchasing in Japan as well as in the world.



Posted: 2004/01/04 09:23:42 AM
Japanese version