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Green Purchasing
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How to Begin Buying Green |
(1) Start a Green Team. Teams spread the work around and build support for the effort. Seek out committed individuals who are interested in efforts to make their workplace more environmentally sustainable. Click here for tips in forming a Green Team.
(2) Review what other agencies have done and look for examples that can easily be adopted by your agency through a simple product or specification change, i.e. recycled content products.
(3) Have buyers and project managers learn what makes a product or service green and what resources are available to learn more. Also convey the benefit or "why" of going green.
(4) Consider formalizing green purchasing practices by developing a written policy (see Green Purchasing Policies below). Find champions in management and elected officials to promote the policy.
(5) Track, quantify, and celebrate successful green purchases.
(6) Keep looking for new opportunities in solicitations and purchases. Engage in "green" government/business networks or keep updated through various green/procurement publications. |
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What is green purchasing and why is it important?
The cost of green purchasing
What are other public agencies doing?
Resources
Green purchasing refers to procurement decisions that factor environmental, social and economic attributes in determining the "best value" for the product or service.
These complementary attributes can be described as:
- Environmental: reviewing products and services for a reduced effect on human health and the environment. This comparison may consider raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, operation, maintenance, or disposal of the product or service.
- Social: reviewing products for where they are made, by whom, and under what conditions. Examples include utilizing locally-owned companies, minority/women/emerging small businesses, and certified fair-trade products.
- Economic: reviewing products and services for their initial price as well as their long term cost, taking into account operating, maintenance, and disposal costs.
Examples of the benefits of green purchasing include:
- Reduce waste and associated costs.
- Improve efficiencies and reduce operating costs.
- Improve indoor and outdoor air quality.
- Improve employee health; reduce sick days; improve productivity.
- Reduce pollution of all kinds and reduce climate change impacts.
- Improve the quality and sustainability of natural resources now and for future generations.
- Stimulate new markets and improve access to better products for the community as a whole.
- Strengthen the local/regional economy.
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Cost of green purchasing practices will vary according to product or service. It is important to distinguish between price and cost. Prices refer to initial upfront expenditure, while cost is more comprehensive, taking into account upfront price, maintenance, operating, and disposal costs. When determining whether a green product or service is more or less expensive, make sure to compare the same set of factors. A simple cost-benefit analysis or life-cycle cost analysis can be very useful.
Furthermore, green purchasing has numerous benefits that are more difficult to quantify, such as health cost savings from improved air quality or reducing exposure to carcinogenic substances. While cost is an important factor and in some cases green purchasing goes hand-in-hand with reducing hard costs, it is essential to recognize that the primary reason to engage in green procurement is not for hard cost savings.
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Beaverton School District, Oregon
The Beaverton School District has targeted a few product areas to "green", with a focus on student health. Examples include using ultra-low sulfur diesel and particulate traps for school buses, using only Green Seal-certified cleaning products, and choosing low-VOC construction materials. The district has a citizen-employee Sustainability Advisory Committee to seek further sustainability opportunities.
http://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/home/departments/community-involvement/in-the-news/
Clark County, Washington
Clark County has an environmentally responsible purchasing policy that incorporates the use of a Green Purchasing List. The green purchasing list is comprised of products that have lesser impacts on human health and the environment when compared to more conventional products.
http://www.co.clark.wa.us/general-services/purchasing/erp/environmental.html
City of Corvallis, Oregon
City of Corvallis has a sustainability policy that incorporates sustainable purchasing practices. Practices incorporated thus far include using a 20 percent biodiesel blend in vehicles, using life-cycle costing for vehicle purchases, using recycled content paper, and creative recycling and reuse of a variety of products.
http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1825&Itemid=2099
City of Portland and Multnomah County
The City of Portland and Multnomah County have partnered together since 2002 to review sets of commodity areas each year for purchasing sustainable products and services. Paper, paints, computers, automotive fuels, office supplies, vehicles, and laundry/uniform services are examples of reviewed commodity areas.
http://www.portlandonline.com/buygreen
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Green Purchasing Policies |
A green purchasing policy can help solidify direction and serve as a communication tool to contractors and the community. Yet, keep in mind that a well-written policy does not do any good unless there is staff to implement it.
Some key green purchasing policy components
- Management buy-in
- Incorporation into existing structures or similar efforts
- State an intent that can be quickly communicated and easily understood
- Define green purchasing
- Identify clear priorities
- Establish measurable goals
- Assign responsibilities
- Report regularly on progress made: successes and challenges
Sample Sustainable Purchasing Policy
City of Portland’s Sustainable Procurement Policy |
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Government Agency Green Purchasing Resource Sites
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmentally Preferable Procurement Program http://www.epa.gov/oppt/epp/index.htm
U.S. EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines http://www.epa.gov/cpg/
Green California http://www.green.ca.gov/
King County, WA http://www.metrokc.gov/procure/green/
Commonwealth of Massachusetts http://www.mass.gov/epp
State of Minnesota http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/epp/
City of San Francisco, CA http://www.sfenvironment.com/aboutus/innovative/epp/
Additional Resources
Resource Centers & Networks
EPP Listserve http://www.nerc.org/eppnet.html
PPRC Rapid Response Service http://pprc.org/research/rapidres.cfm
Responsible Purchasing Network http://www.responsiblepurchasing.org
Eco-Labels
Energy Star http://www.energystar.gov/
Environmental Choice http://www.environmentalchoice.com/English/ECP%20Home/
Forest Stewardship Council http://www.fscus.org/
Green Seal http://www.greenseal.org/
Green-e http://www.green-e.org
Greenguard http://www.greenguard.org/
Keeping Updated – Policies, Products & Trends
Eco-Structure http://www.eco-structure.com/
Government Procurement (GovPro) http://www.govpro.com/
Sustainable Industries Journal http://www.sijournal.com/
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