The Workshop on Green Public Procurement was held on 22 April last in Madrid. The workshop was organised by the Ministry of the Natural, Rural and Marine Environment and opened by the Secretary of State for Climate Change, Teresa Ribera. FCC, the only company invited to the event, took part with a speech entitled "Social and Environmental Responsibility in Public Investment", delivered by Gonzalo Gómez Mulero.

In her own speech, Secretary of State Ribera said that the average amount that government spends on products, services and construction amounts to between 16 and 18% of the gross domestic product. Government therefore has vast potential for mobilizing a market of green products.

Some good government practices were presented at the workshop. Stress was laid on the environmental and economic benefits of green public procurement and its relationship with policy on sustainable consumption and production.

Participating in the workshop were representatives from the Ministry of the Natural, Rural and Marine Environment, regional and local government, business associations, social partners, NGOs and FCC.

The workshop, held in Madrid, culminated with a programme organised by the International Work Training Centre, whose main objective was to provide experts from different nations with a set of tools for implementing green public contracting in their own home countries.