Assessing Sustainability in Public Procurement in Ghana: An AHP–MCDM Approach

Abstract

Public procurement in Ghana accounts for a substantial share of expenditure and holds potential for advancing sustainability, yet mechanisms for balancing environmental, social, economic, and operational goals remain limited. This study applied the Analytic Hierarchy Process within a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making framework to evaluate the importance of sustainability criteria, assess sectoral and supplier performance, and test ranking robustness. Results showed environmental priorities dominated, with Carbon Footprint (20.44%) and Environmental Cost (19.69%) contributing over 40% of total weight. Operational factors such as Risk Management (M = 6.21) and Supplier Reliability (M = 6.09) recorded the highest scores. Energy Systems ranked strongest (M = 0.5948), while Office Supplies ranked lowest (M = 0.4779). Large suppliers performed better on efficiency and quality, while smaller suppliers contributed most through local content. Rankings remained stable under sensitivity testing. The framework demonstrates a transparent approach for embedding sustainability into procurement and informs national policy and comparative research.