The Government needs to implement the green procurement policy outlined in the Programme for Government, a group of leading Irish businesses has said.

The group, which includes the chief executives of Siemens Ireland, Ecocem Ireland and Greenstar, is calling for the Department of the Environment to produce “robust, ambitious green public procurement guidelines”.

According to the group, the total annual State procurement spend is some €17 billion, only a fraction of which is spent on green goods and services.

The group has sent an open letter to Ministers ahead of the National Conference on Green Public Procurement, which takes place next Friday.