Section 4: Drafting Your Green Purchasing Policy
A.  Considerations for Drafting your policy statement
B.  Putting Pen and policy to paper

A. CONSIDERATIONS FOR DRAFTING YOUR POLICY STATEMENT

When the green purchasing movement first began in the 1970s, recycled content products were the primary focus.  Since then, the definition of “green” has compounded to include multiple environmental attributes (also referred to as environmental impacts) that encompass every phase of a product's life cycle; from the extraction of raw materials and the manufacturing of products, to their packaging and shipping requirements and ultimately their use and disposal.  When examining their life cycle, it is clear that the goods we use regularly (as well as some of the practices we follow) can be harmful on many levels.

Examples of this include both paper and light bulbs.  Some paper that includes post-consumer recycled content may also be bleached using chlorine, a chemical linked to a host of human health issues. Similarly, some energy efficient light bulbs may contain more mercury than others, requiring purchasers to consider recycling and end-of-life management for those items at the time of purchase.

As a result, purchasers may find themselves faced early-on with having to prioritize competing objectives to obtain the greatest green that fits their needs and budget.  The following are some important environmental attributes to consider as you draft your policy statement:

  • Toxic ingredients.  Products containing hazardous chemicals (including those that are carcinogenic, can cause asthma and other respiratory ailments, disrupt the hormone function, etc) can pose health risks to employees and the public as well as threaten the environment.  In addition, hazardous products often require special and costly transportation, storage and disposal methods.
  • Energy use.  Reducing energy use is important because most energy production contributes to problems such as carbon dioxide emissions (tied to global warming), mercury releases, acid rain, volatile organic compounds, and nuclear waste.  Dependency on foreign petroleum is also linked to national security issues. 
  • Solid waste.  The United States generates millions of tons of municipal solid waste annually, and this amount is increasing every year.  Much of this waste comes from disposable and over-packaged products.  Preventing waste can conserve natural resources and avoid the need to build new, expensive waste disposal facilities.  Recycled-content products save energy and resources, while also keeping waste out of landfills and incinerators.
  • Water conservation.  Less than 1% of the earth's water is available for human consumption and world reports estimate that the demand for this valuable resource is increasing at an alarming rate.  Predictions forecast that water will be the next “oil crisis.”
  • Social responsibility.  This is a more recently recognized attribute that looks at corporate social responsibility considerations throughout a product's lifecycle, including labor rights, human rights, and community involvement.
  • Economic development.  Encouraging local manufacturers and suppliers to adopt green initiatives and offer green options in products and services works toward assisting those companies in creating a market niche for themselves in the emerging responsible purchasing marketplace.  Purchasing locally also reduces the carbon footprint in the delivery of products.

B. PUTTING PEN AND POLICY TO PAPER

Close to 100 green purchasing policies and Executive Orders are available are posted on selected websites and accessible to everyone, so do not take time to reinvent one.  In fact, forget everything you learned about plagiarism in school and steal whatever you like in detail.

Some others who have actually gone through the exercise of writing a formal policy may be in a better position to provide information here. Suggestions include Scot Case, King County, WA staff, City of Portland, and others.

Scot Case provided some great information on this subject in a recent webinar, including the key points indicated here:

  • Clear Statement of Purpose – Provide a concise definition of responsible or green purchasing and the importance it holds for your agency or department.
  • Identify the environmental attributes you want to address.
  • Identify the products and services that clearly correspond to those attributes and establish goals within each category that you would like to achieve in the course of your program.
  • Establish priorities within the items identified that balance….
  • Review available specifications and periodically modify them over time
  • Build in reporting and benchmarking measurements