Section 10: GREEN PURCHASING RESOURCES
The resources below are an excellent starting point for finding information related to sustainability or environmentally preferable purchasing.

A.  LINKS
B.  SAMPLING OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
C.  SELECTED BOOKS
D.  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
E.  News and Updates
 

A.  LINKS

BEES: Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability
BEES is a software decision-making tool that was first developed in 1994. There are currently over 18,000 users worldwide. BEES provides understandable, science-based information often lacking from "green" marketing claims. BEES development has been supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. EPA Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, and NIST. BEES measures the environmental performance of products by using the internationally-standardized and science-based life-cycle assessment approach specified in ISO 14000 standards. All stages in the life of a product are analyzed: raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and recycling and waste management. Economic performance is measured using the ASTM standard life-cycle cost method, which covers the costs of initial investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and disposal.

Building Green.Com Web Site
Resource-filled site related to green buildings. The website has articles from Environmental Building News, which is a monthly newsletter featuring comprehensive, practical information on a range of topics related to sustainable design in the built environment. Users can sign up to receive twice-monthly news summaries from Environmental Building News for free by email.

Consumer's Union Guide to Environmental Labels
This site has search tools and expert evaluation of labels on food, wood, personal care products and household cleaners.  Searchable by product, category, or certifier, and provides information to easily compare labels.

Ecolabel Index
This is a comprehensive, global, and independent database of over 330 ecolabels. The site is Ecolab”the largest global database of ecolables…in 201 countries and 40 industry sectors.” 
 
Common Eco-label Websites:

Domestic

International

  •  REACH (European regulation on chemicals and their safe use)

 
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Website  
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) is a federal-wide program that encourages and assists executive agencies in the purchasing of environmentally preferable products and services.  The site contains links for purchasing information and for the following general product and service categories:  Buildings; Carpets; Cleaners; Conferences & Green Meetings; Copiers; Electronics; Food Serviceware. 

Government Procurement Magazine and Website  
This web site contains articles that are searchable by topic.  Sustainability is one topic on this web site.  Articles are geared toward describing a program or initiative that a state has launched rather than offering specific, detailed advice.

GreenSpec Directory for Green Building Products
The 7th edition of GreenSpec Directory includes information on over 2,100 green building products carefully screened by the editors of Environmental Building News.  Directory listings cover more than 250 categories—from access flooring to zero-VOC paints.  Included are product descriptions, environmental characteristics and considerations, and manufacturer contact information with Internet addresses.  The cost is $89.  Orders can be made at: BuildingGreen.com.

Inform, Inc
Inform, Inc. provides educational materials on e-waste and toxins in cleaning supplies.  The site has a podcast series; “The Secret Life” that provides a detailed look into the toxins of many everyday, consumer products. 
 

ISO 1400 Family of Environmental Standards
International Standards Organization is responsible for international quality standards.  Environmental management standard ISO 14001 is a useful approach in realizing an environmental conscious management system.  ISO 14001 provides training sessions for auditors and many articles about ISO 14001.  One implementation guide to ISO 14000 can be found at this link:  http://www.cepis.ops-oms.org/muwww/fulltext/repind63/ems/ems.html.


The Natural Step International Gateway
The model and concepts presented by Natural Step is the basic framework for understanding sustainable practices.  There are local chapters of Natural Step that offer training sessions that are foundational.

Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN)
RPN is fast becoming the primary source of information for government procurement professionals.  The site features purchasing guides, webinars, a discussion forum, a database of policies, to name a few.  The information is specific to government procurement, including purchasing guides and product specifications.
 
NASPO has partnered with the Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) to give all members two-year subscriptions (September 2010-September 2012).

Green Purchasing Trends:  The "State" of Sustainable Procurement, RPN report published 2009.

Green Purchasing Trends: The "State" of Sustainable Procurement. RPN report published 2010.

Sustainable Industries 
“The premier magazine for sustainable business.  News on the west coast and beyond.”  Contains information about products, companies, trends, and topics pertaining to sustainability.  The cost is $39 per year.
 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) LCAccess
Information on life cycle assessment, including databases and case studies.

 
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B.  SAMPLING OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS

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C.  SELECTED BOOKS

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, North Point Press, c2002.

Creating Contagious Commitment: Applying the Tipping Point to Organizational Change, Andrea Shaperio. Hillsborough, Strategy Perspective, c2003.

The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability, Paul Hawken, Harper Business, c1993.
    
Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power, Mark Schapiro, Chelsea Green Publishing, c2007.

Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash, Elizabeth Royte, New York, NY, Little, Brown, c2005.

The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living, Fritoj Capra, HarperCollins, c2002.

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, Paul Hawken, Little, Brown and Co., c1999.

Natural Wealth of Nations: Harnessing the Market for the Environment, David Malin Roodman, W.W. Norton, c1998.

Plows, Plagues and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate, William Ruddiman, Princeton University Press, c2005.

Silent Spring Revisited, Gino J. Marco, Robert M. Hollingworth, and William Durham, American Chemical Society, c1987.

Stuff: The Secret Life of Everyday Things, John Ryan and Alan Durning, Northwest Environment, c1997.

The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift, Andres Edwards, New Society Publishers, c2005.

Sustainable Value: How the World's Leading Companies Are Doing Well by Doing Good, Chris Laszlo, Stanford Business books, c2008.

The Natural Step for Business:  Wealth, Ecology & the Evolutionary Corporation, Brian Nattrass, New Society Publishers, c1998.

The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-in, Bob Willard, New Society Publishers, c2005.

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D.  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Life-Cycle Costing, Life Cycle Analysis
Life Cycle Costing:  Life Cycle Costing examines a product's financial cost throughout its useful life.

Examples of  Life Cycle Costs:
  • Initial Price
  • Operating Costs: energy, water, labor
  • Maintenance Costs: replacement parts, cleaning
  • Depreciation Costs
  • Upgrade Costs
  • Disposal Costs: hazardous waste, recycling, take-back
  • Regulatory Costs: hazardous material tracking, permits
  • Training Costs: employee safety/end-user training

    Life Cycle Analysis/Assessment (LCA)

LCA evaluates all stages of a product's life from the perspective that they are interdependent.  LCA enables the estimation of the cumulative environmental impacts resulting from all stages in the product life cycle; often including impacts not considered in more traditional analyses (e.g., raw material extraction, material transportation, ultimate product disposal, etc.).

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) LCAccess:  information on life cycle assessment, including databases and case studies.

Eco-Labels

What Makes a Good Eco-Label?
  1. Seals/Logos indicating that an independent organization has verified that a product meets a set of meaningful and consistent standards for environmental protection and/or social justice.
  2. Key Concepts:
  • Meaningful and Verifiable
  • Consistent and Clear
  • Transparent
  • Independent and Protection from Conflict of Interest
  • Opportunities for Public Comment
Eco-Labels
  • Third-party certified/verified versus self-declared
  • Multiple criteria with life cycle consideration versus single attribute
  • Can be statement, symbol, or chart (“report card”)

Eco-Labels: Third Party Certified, Multiple Attribute
  • The majority of international eco-labels are government sponsored.

Eco-Labels: Self-Declared, Single Attribute
Self declared, single attribute eco-labels tend to be confusing and can be used by manufacturers to intentionally confuse the consumer/marketplace.

Misleading Terms
  • Examples:  Compostable, biodegradable, natural, recyclable, non-toxic 
Misleading Symbols
Examples:
  • Recycled:  The recycle symbol is not meaningful unless accompanied by a recycled-content percentage.  It may also be used to indicate recyclability as opposed to recycled content.
  • ·CFC-Free:  CFCs were banned in nearly all consumer products in 1978 in the U.S.  The Consumer Aerosol Products Council (CAPCO) is a non-profit organization sponsored by 3M that promotes the “No CFCs” logo on aerosol cans.  The logo is available to companies who wish to download it.

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 E. News and Updates

 

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