Introduction

This Factsheet outlines the current progress in advancing Sustainable Public Procurement (SusPP) in Samoa based on a desk review. The review applies an analytical framework of six Pillars (or "building blocks") of SusPP systems.

The Framework is designed to make clear that countries do not need to follow a linear step-by-step path to build effective GPP systems. Rather it is important to examine local contexts and prioritize the Pillars with the most potential in the country. No matter where a country starts, a balanced approach to implementation calls for progress on all Pillars to some degree.

This Factsheet is organized as follows:

• "Country Overview" section with executive summary, indicative maturity rating, key achievements, potential pathways forward and timeline of key events related to advancing sustainable public procurement.
• "State of Play & Forward Looking Analysis" section that summarizes the research findings from the desk review for each Pillar theme.
• "Key Stakeholders Driving the Agenda" explores opportunities for ADB teams to open discussions with country counterparts and add value to the work of partners.

The Factsheet is intended to be a living document to promote knowledge sharing and support training activities at ADB. It will be revised and improved as new information is uncovered and advances are made. If you have new information, please contact ychu@adb.org.

>> Visual snapshot of Sustainable Procurement Maturity Level

Key Achievements

• Vision for a “sustainable economy” set in national development pathway
  
• Ban on plastic bags, containers and straws put in place through legislation
  
• Zero-CFC consumption achieved and
  
• Minimum Energy Performance standards for refrigerators, air conditioners and lighting
  
• Procurement Instructions recognize value for money, not necessarily lowest price as a guiding principle
  
• Procurement framework allows life-cycle costing and other SusPP approaches: framework agreements, functional/performance criteria
  
• Use of domestic preferences encouraged
  
• National Building Code contains technical requirements for green buildings
  
• Sustainable procurement pilots undertaken by Land Transport Authorities and for 2019 Pacific Games
  

Official Procurement Portal:

https://www.mof.gov.ws/services/procurement/

Ongoing work

• Development of an electronic waste take-back system
  

Potential pathways forward

• Integrate sustainability criteria into ADB-financed infrastructure projects
  
• Develop specific SusPP policies and action plans
  
• Support procurement law reform to more explicitly support SusPP
  
• Raise awareness of existing tools available to support SusPP including the National Building Code, MEPS and green business initiatives
  
• Provide green technology and entrepreneurship training to businesses
  
• Develop a monitoring system to track sustainable procurements
  

>> Timeline of Implementation of Sustainable Procurement Activities

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Treasury Instructions set out rules for procurement and contracting

National Building Code contains specifications for green building

Minimum Energy Performance Standards program launched

National Waste Management Strategy formally endorsed

Procurement Operating Manual released

Samoa 2040 and Pathway for the Development of Samoa sets vision for a “sustainable economy”

Electronic waste take-back program developed with EU-financing

Pacific Greenpreneurs program launched in Samoa

YouthCo:Lab launched to support youth entrepreneurs with solutions to achieve the SDGs

Pillar 1: Government Vision & Awareness of SusPP

Governments that establish a clear policy vision on SusPP can accelerate the shift from procurement as an adminstrative to strategic function, making clear how SusPP can deliver on important national social and environmental goals.

The Government of Samoa does not have a dedicated action plan for sustainable procurement. However, it has set several policy priorities that sustainable procurement could contribute to achieving.

National Development Plan

The country has set important social and environmental goals in its Samoa 2040 and Pathway for the Development of Samoa 2021/22 – 2025/26 that SusPP can help achieve. Samoa 2040 highlights the need for job creation in three main sectors: tourism, agriculture and fisheries. The Pathway for the Development of Samoa prioritizes “People Empowerment” (Key Priority Area 4), a concept that includes “improved access to opportunities for all especially women and youth.” “Business Innovation and Growth” is another priority (Key Priority Area 9) focused on increasing opportunities for new businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises and the manufacturing sector.

The Pathway for the Development of Samoa sets a new vision to “nurture the right kind of economic recovery” through a “sustainable economy” that drives human development and enables shared prosperity in ways that are responsible to future generations. It notes that the country is exceptionally vulnerable to climate change and disasters, raising the importance of environmental protection and climate resilience. Priorities include:

• Prevent and reduce pollution, including plastics, electronic waste, spills and waste discharge (Key Priority Area 16)
  
• Increase renewable energy use and make energy efficient products accessible and affordable (Key Priority Area 18)
  

Government bodies (and private businesses) are encouraged to learn, practice and live an environmentally friendly lifestyle, as a centrepiece to the country’s green development aspirations. (Pathway, p. 23) Specific green initiatives promoted by the Government include “reuse, carpool, paperless and eco-friendly products.”

The Government also prioritises improvements to the way infrastructure is managed to prolong lifespan and improve resiliency (Key Priority Area 21). It encourages infrastructure development that considers2021 the entire life-cycle of the asset, potentially opening the door for life-cycle costing considerations in infrastructure projects.

Climate Change

Samoa set a target to reduce overall GHG emissions by 26% by 2030 compared to 2007 levels in its 2nd Nationally Determined Contribution. Sector-specific mitigation targets have been set in the energy (30%), waste (4%) and AFOLU (26%) sectors. The country aims to meet these targets through various means with links to sustainable procurement, including implementing energy efficiency programs, including energy efficient appliances in tourism facilities and electrification of vehicles (especially buses and taxis).

Waste Management

The Government of Samoa adopted a National Waste Management Strategy in 2019, a milestone for the country as the first to be officially endorsed. It calls for awareness raising across Samoan society, including government agencies to improve waste management (p. 37). A pilot “3R” (reduce, reuse,

recycle) initiative was planned involving government ministries to showcase good recycling practices (p. 39). The “3R” concept in Samoa focuses on waste reduction, on-site compost, off-site compost and aluminium can collection. The Waste (Plastic Bag) Management Regulations 2018 bans shopping bags, packing bags (e.g. Styrofoam plastic) and straws, focusing on plastics that commonly end up in the ocean.

Improving electronic waste management is a priority in Samoa. Under an EU-funded program (2021-2024), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment plans to introduce an e-waste take-back system. Full operation is planned for the 2nd quarter of 2023. The country is a leader in hazardous waste management, achieving its achievement of its zero CFC consumption target and working on phasing-out 80% of HCFC targeting with a total phase-out planned by 2040.

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

The Energy Management Act 2020 requires all products covered by the Act to meet Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), with some required to carry an energy efficiency label. The Act took a phased approach to implementation, applying first to the import of household refrigerators and freezers (March 2018), then air conditioners (September 2018) and finally lighting products including incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps and ballasts (March 2019). All government departments must purchase these energy efficient equipment for use in their own buildings. The Pacific Community maintains an online database of all products who have passed the MEPS and are approved for purchase in Samoa.

The country has several ambitious projects and goals on energy. In 2014, Samoa became the first Pacific island country to launch a large-scale solar power project, the 2.1 MW Faleata Racecourse Solar Photovoltaic Plant. The

Electric Power Corporation (EPC), the sole electricity supplier in Samoa, has set a target for 100% electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2025. The EPC actively works with Independent Power Producers (IPPS) to harness locally available renewable energy resources, mainly solar, wind and hydropower.

Pillar 2: Legal & Regulatory Framework

Procurement law reform can be key to clear obstacles to implementation by establishing "value for money", not "lowest price", as a core procurement objective, and authorizing procurement approaches suited to SusPP.

Public Procurement

Procurement in Samoa is governed by Public Finance Management Act 2001 (Section XII Procurement and Contracts) with details provided in the TREASURY INSTRUCTIONS Section 6 Procurement & Contracting issued in 2016. A Procurement Operating Manual (2020) offers further guidance in a user-friendly, unofficial format.

Value for Money

The Treasury Instructions defines value for money as a guiding principle for public procurement, defined as “the most favourable combination of whole life costs of a product, service or work and quality (in the sense of fitness for purpose) in order to meet the requirements1 or intended of the procuring entity;” (K.2.1.k). Notably, the Treasury Instructions note that procuring entities must seek to “achieve the best value for money, and not necessarily the lowest price, over the life of the contract, regardless of whether or not the Instructions apply.”

The Treasury Instructions place an emphasis on bid selection based on the “lowest total cost” and to the “lowest evaluated substantially responsive bidder”. However, procuring entities evaluate lowest cost considering only those bidders who “meet all the terms and delivery requirements of the procuring entity” (Article K.3.7).

Environmental criteria and Life-cycle costs

The Treasury Instructions set out clearly that technical specifications may include “a functional description of requirements, including any environmental or safety features” (Article K.4.2). Award criteria can consider requirements beyond bid price, as long as they can be quantified in monetary terms or expressed in the form of pass or fail requirements, or where not possible, by relative weights. Evaluation criteria can include the “cost of operating, maintaining and repairing the goods, or works – allowing for life-cycle costs to be considered.

Functional and Performance Criteria

Procuring entities in Samoa can outline functional descriptions or performance parameters as technical specifications (Article K.4.2). This practice has been used in other jurisdictions to simplify the design of sustainable procurements. This allows procuring entities to specify an energy efficiency or environmental target and leave it up to the market to propose solutions that can meet the functional or performance criteria.

Framework Agreements

The Instructions specifically allow procuring entities to organise framework agreements (K.3.8). This procurement approach can be used to aggregated demand across procuring entities to motivate suppliers to offer sustainable solutions.

Domestic Preference

The Treasury Instructions clearly encourage procuring entities to use domestic preferences to award contracts to local suppliers. Article K.5.5. “Domestic Preferences” outlines that a 5-10% preference can be applied to eligible bids for bidders with local content. This can include local “ownership, location of bidder or production facilities, origin of labour, raw material or components, extent of sub-contracting or association with local partners or any other relevant factor (Article K.5.5).

Pillar 3: Institutions & Capacity

No specific agency in Samoa has been assigned responsibility to promote sustainable procurement.

Procurement Institutions

Each procuring entity in Samoa is responsible for ensuring their procurements are done in accordance with the Act and its Instructions. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) provides central coordination by developing policies, procedures and documentation for public procurement. The Procurement Division within the MOF provides administrative support in the screening and processing of tenders, enables the development and delivery of training progrms, and supports the work of the Tenders Board. Cabinet approval is required for all public procurements valued above SAT $500,000.

Other relevant bodies include the Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure that assists with technical and infrastructural issues with relevant procurements. The Office of the Attorney General is responsible for legal oversight of the procurement process, as well as drafting and clearance of tender documents. The Cabinet Development Committee is responsible for project planning and programming, as well as issuing endorsement for projects valued above SAT $100,000 – although not responsible for approval or consideration of procurement specifically.

Civil Society Organizations

To advance opportunities for women and youth, the Government of Samoa works in partnership with the National Women’s Council and the National Youth Council (Development Pathway of Samoa, p. 10)

Training

The Procurement Division of the MOF is responsible for developing and delivering training programs to build capacity within Implementing Agencies. However, no specific training or professionalisation programs in Samoa on public procurement or sustainable procurements were identified in this research.

Pillar 4: Market Practices

Market dialogue throughout the procurement process helps procuring entities to choose realistic sustainability criteria and ensure suppliers succeed in delivering on sustainability commitments over the contract duration.

Business Associations

The Samoa Chamber of Commerce supports various initiatives to support local business growth, especially for youth and women-owned businesses. Recent activities have included workshops on climate finance, circular economy and climate adaptation. In partnership with the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF), the Samoa Chamber of Commerce hosted a weeklong conference in October 2022 to discuss the opportunities for improving Pacific-based participation in infrastructure development in the post COVID-19 economic recovery. The conference was linked to a 2022 PRIF study on “Enhancing Procurement Practice and Local Content in Pacific Infrastructure.”

Sustainable Businesses

The Moana Taka public private partnership between the Government of Samoa, SPREP and the Samoa Recycling Waste Management Association (SRWMA) and SWIRE shipping works to address recyclable waste through the shipment of waste to overseas recycling centres (VNR, p. 108).

Companies such as OSM Consultants and Green Power Samoa have all worked on public infrastructure projects for the Samoan government. Other Samoan businesses and products can be identified through the online directory, Samoa Market.

Incubators and Labs

The Pacific Greenpreneurs program was launched in Samoa, a training and mentoring program for early-stage micro, small and medium enteprises (MSME) with green business models. The program is a collaboration of the Samoa Business Hub, Pacific GreenPreneurs Network and Global Green Growth Initiative. 11 Samoan entrepreneurs took part in the program offering products and services for eco-friendly farming, pest control, tourism, coffee and upcycled gifts.

Samoa is the first Pacific nation to join the YouthCo:Lab initiative, implemented by the Samoa Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The program aims to support young people to take the lead in finding and developing new solutions for social and environmental problems in their communities. In 2022, the Lab supported young entrepreneurs with business plans that contributed to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Markets for Change is a UN Women project that promotes gender equality through economic empowerment of women market vendors in Samoa.

Forums

A Market Event was held in September 2022 that featured business beneficiaries of Green Climate Fund projects with products on mixed farming, agroforestry, gardening and green paper recycling initiatives.

Pillar 5: Procurement Operations

Various tools and procurement approaches can be employed to help procurers more easily identify environmentally friendly goods and services and attract a competitive market response.

Building Code

The 2017 National Building Code requires the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the construction, alteration, operation and/or demolition of buildings in Samoa. Recommended methods include:

• Reduced use of concrete as a building material
  
• Use of renewable energy for lighting, heating, cooling, electricity and industrial processes
  
• Weathertight construction
  
• Energy efficient equipment and processes
  
• Minimising removal of existing healthy trees and plants
  
• Conservation of water and energy through low consumption appliances, fixings and machinery
  
• Use of recycled and/or locally sourced building materials
  
• Appropriate siting to reduce solar heat gain
  
• Use of trees and other means of shading
  

The Code outlines acceptable environmental performance requirements and acceptable solutions that can be integrated into tender documents for sustainable procurements.

Procurement Pilots

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) aims to adopt electric vehicles in its fleet, as has conducted trials with electric scooters. The Government also submitted a proposal as its Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) project to pilot electric vehicles for taxis and buses. It is unknown if this project was launched.

The “Pacific Games” in 2019 offered an opportunity for Samoa to showcase a “green” sporting event. The organizers provided water fountains to discourage bottled water and used biodegradable plates and utensils.

Pillar 6: Monitoring & Impact Measurement

Monitoring systems are essential to gather the information needed to keep SusPP implementation on course and communicate on the benefits achieved for the country.

In general, procuring entities must submit quarterly procurement progress reports to the Ministry of Finance. However, this reporting does not include indicators on sustainable public procurement.

Projects Supported by ADB

ADB assistance to Samoa focuses on renewable energy, land and maritime transport, health, and disaster resilience. Several infrastructure projects are underway or planned for which sustainable procurements can be designed, including projects to enhance the sustainability of the Apia port and upgrade Upolu’s central cross island road. In 2021, ADB committed $5 million to prepare priority land transport projects.

ADB has experience supporting the Government of Samoa enhance its public financial management and the business-enabling environment. Sustainable procurement support can be integrated into these existing programs.

Other Initiatives supported by National/International Agencies

In 2018, the country signed a partnership agreement with the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to implement the €20 million European Union-Samoa Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programme. This initiative aims to support the implementation of the SNEEP and other related policies, as well as provide technical assistance and capacity building to key stakeholders in the energy sector.

The ‘Climate Action Pathways for Island Transport (CAP-IT): Accelerating the Decarbonization of Samoa’s Land and Maritime Transport Sectors’ Project with support from the Government of Japan and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project aims to promote urgent and inclusive decarbonization by accelerating the uptake of electrical vehicles and exploration of low-carbon propulsion systems to transform Samoa’s land and maritime transport sectors respectively.

References

ADB, 2023. Asian Development Bank and Samoa: Fact Sheet.

Government of Samoa, 2017. Energy Sector Plan 2017-2022.

Government of Samoa, 2017. National Building Code of Samoa.

Government of Samoa, 2018. Energy Efficiency (Approved Energy Using Products Standards) Regulations 2018.

Government of Samoa, 2019. National Waste Management Strategy 2019-2023.

Government of Samoa, 2020. Second Voluntary National Review on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Government of Samoa, 2021. Energy Management Act 2020.

Government of Samoa, 2021. Second Nationally Determined Contribution.

Government of Samoa, 2021. Pathway for the Development of Samoa 2021/22 – 2025/26.

Government of Samoa, 2021. Samoa 2040.

Pacific Community, Online database of Pacific Appliance Database (PAD) registrations.

Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility, 2022. Enhancing Procurement Practice and Local Content in Pacific Infrastructure.

SPREP website on PacWastePlus Country Projects: Samoa.

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