A comparative study of public sector sustainable procurement practices, opportunities and barriers

The reported study was conducted to compare and contrast current sustainable procurement (SP) practices including the main opportunities of, and barriers to, engagement with SP between two countries, Australia and Malaysia. The results are based on data collected from surveys using a standard questionnaire in both countries. The result shows that some SP practices are evident in public sector procurement practice and that the extent and nature of SP practices varies significantly between two countries. In particular, Australian public organizations placed stronger emphasis on safety aspects of SP while Malaysia placed greater importance on diversity. However, Malaysian public sector organizations came out ahead on most dimensions of SP practices. The public sector organizations in both countries reported that financial pressures is the most significant barrier to SP implementation whilst organizational efficiency and transparency provided optimal opportunities for implementing SP practices. This study provided practical insights into whether and how government policies are being implemented in both countries