Developing a green purchasing program can be easy, especially with the right tools. Businesses can use the simple steps outlined below in starting (and maintaining) a successful green purchasing program.

COMMITMENT - Make a commitment to buying green products and services. DESIGNATE - Dedicate personnel to the goal of buying green products and services. COMMUNICATE - Communicate your commitment to your employees, clients and the public. ASSESS - Review and evaluate your current purchasing habits, policies and procedures. SET GOALS - Set green purchasing goals. LEARN - Learn about green products and services. REVIEW - Work with suppliers and review product and services specifications. GET STARTED - Procure green products and services using a phase-in approach or test them through a pilot program. EVALUATE - Evaluate your green purchasing program. GET THE WORD OUT - Market your achievements. MONITOR - Monitor your green purchasing program.

Sample Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy

In one sentence, here is what an EPP policy could look like:

Preference shall be given to suppliers whose products have environmental friendly attributes that maximize Post Consumer Recycled content, minimize toxicity and packaging, or have any other environmentally preferable attributes, with minimal sacrifice to price, quality, and delivery requirements.

A more detailed version could say:

Our company purchasing agents shall:

A. Evaluate recycled or environmentally preferable products, designated reputable sources as Environmentally Friendly, to determine the extent to which the product may be practicably used.

B. Purchase recycled products with the maximum amount of POST CONSUMER recycled material practicable; Ensure that contracts for recycled products require the maximum practicable amount of post consumer recycled material and that contractors provide certification of this content and report amounts (%) used.

C. Other Environmentally Friendly Attributes: Purchasing agents shall look for products that have: minimal packaging, were processed without chlorine bleach (Process Chlorine Free (PCF) papers preferred, Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) papers, next in preference); and other products (ie. plastic, etc.) that can be purchased with maximum % of post consumer recycled content. Additionally any products that provide a source reduction benefit, so that less of the product can safely be used compared to other similar products, shall be deemed preferable;

D. Evaluate cleaners for less toxic and environmentally preferable attributes. Green Seal is a resource for this.

E. Report the progress of policy implementation, including the status of product evaluations conducted and types of environmentally preferable products purchased, with specifications, to guide future purchases.

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Exemptions

A. Nothing in this policy shall be construed as requiring the company to procure products that do not perform adequately for their intended use or are not available at a reasonable price in a reasonable period of time.

B. Nothing contained in this policy shall preclude the user from requiring recycled material content as a bid specification.