Recycled content – products made with a percentage of post-consumer recycled content instead of pure virgin content reduce the need to extract raw materials such as petroleum, trees, or metals, in general use less energy and water, and reduce demand on our overstressed landfills.Energy efficiency – energy efficient products help limit energy consumption and lessen our carbon footprint.Lower toxicity – products using fewer toxic ingredients minimize the hazardous health impacts on our water and air, reduce the damage caused through accidental spills and improper disposal, and reduce health risks to building occupants and people who handle products.Uses energy alternatives to fossil fuel.Encourage environmentally positive practices such as energy-efficient hot/cold water fountains, composting, recycling containers, engine block heaters, etc.Contain fewer toxic substances or reduce the amount of toxic substances disposed or consumed.Prevent pollution – minimize emissions such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs).Conserve energy, water, or other natural resources made from sustainable resources.Minimize waste – minimal packaging or packaging that is recyclable or reusable (including take-back provisions).Contain recycled materials – recycled or re-manufactured materials or parts, such as 100% recycled paper.As this purchasing power is used to push suppliers toward a more proactive, planet-conscious direction, suppliers are also being enabled to achieve an enhanced market position.Īlthough Sustainable Products can focus on different environmental attributes and pursue sustainable features with varying levels of aggressiveness, SPs tend to contain some combination of the following characteristics: Government waste, emissions, and environmental risks are being recognized as often being directly linked to the quantity and quality of the goods and raw materials a government buys.Īs part of the largest procurement group in the nation – representing over twenty percent of the Gross National Product – federal, state, and local governments can use the clout of their buying practices to direct industry manufacturers toward making more sustainable products that are reasonably priced and do less harm to the environment and public health. Environmental, health, and safety concerns are increasingly being integrating into strategic sourcing. Links to other resources offering detailed information on specific elements of the processĪs more procurement managers understand the connection between broader social issues and purchasing decisions, sustainable strategies aimed at reducing the adverse environmental and social impacts of organizations’ purchasing decisions are being adopted.Recommended steps and proven strategies to enable the implementation of a green purchasing program.A basic understanding of the concept and benefits of green purchasing.This guide is intended to be a straightforward, easy-to-use document that provides purchasers with: Such efforts may be challenged by administrative hurdles, technical barriers, and skepticism from purchasers and product end-users.Īs a result, NASPO has developed this Green Purchasing Guide for its members and others to use in navigating the sea of information surrounding the adoption of a green purchasing program. As buying and using sustainable products benefits the environment, improves efficiency, and often saves money, in recent years these practices have become an integral part of public procurement.įor those new to EPP, implementing a green purchasing program is not always simple. However, for the purpose of this NASPO Guide, EPP will mean environmentally preferable purchasing or green purchasing.Įnvironmentally preferable products or Sustainable Products (SP) are generally defined as products and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment, when compared to competing products or services that serve the same purpose. This term includes sourcing recyclable products, recycled products, reusable products, and products that conserve energy or natural resources.ĮPP is used interchangeably to mean either environmentally preferable purchasing or an environmentally preferable product. Incorporating EPP in the procurement process considers raw materials acquisition, production, fabrication, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, operation, maintenance, and disposal of the product.
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) or Green Purchasing is generally defined as purchasing a product that has a lesser or reduced negative effect or increased positive effect on human health and the environment, when compared with competing products that serve the same purpose.