About Green Purchasing

Green purchasing is an innovative approach to purchasing products and services that reflect fiscal responsibility, social equity, and community and environmental stewardship. Green purchasing, also known as green or responsible purchasing, promotes products and services that are made and used in such a way as to reduce toxics, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.

While much progress has been made through regulatory programs to reduce pollution from toxic chemicals, other pollution prevention strategies are needed to further reduce the amounts of these chemicals used and released into the environment. Green purchasing, or buying less of products that contain toxic materials, is a pollution prevention strategy that has been proven to reduce the environmental burden of those products on the environment.

Purchasing managers are in a unique position to change the way their companies do business through their purchasing decisions. Their purchasing decisions can have a significant environmental and social impact. For example, every ton (40 cartons) of 100% post-consumer recycled content paper used saves 17 matures trees, reduces solid waste by over 1,000 pounds, and reduces air emissions by over 2,000 pounds. Recycling programs create jobs in the community while reducing solid waste, typically transported by truck, to local landfills. Each purchasing decision made by a company not only affects the bottom line but their environmental footprint.

The following table summarizes a few of the benefits associated with green purchasing. Also available as PDF

Purchase

Purchase

Sustainability or “Greening” Benefits

Janitorial Supplies and Services- “Green Cleaning”

·         Purchase and use janitorial supplies containing less toxic compounds.

·         Reduced toxics

·         Improved indoor air quality

·         Reduced waste from packaging

·         Improved efficacy for certain products

Paper

·         Purchase paper products containing a higher recycled content and/or are chlorine free

·         Paper products include copy papers, fine papers, tissue (bathrooms)

·         Meet and exceed recycled paper content requirements in client contracts

·         Participation in a growing market demand for sustainable paper products

Lighting

·         Increase the use of energy saving lighting such as compact fluorescents bulbs or LEDs

·         Cost savings from reduced energy use

·         Waste reduction due to longer life and recyclability

Food service products

·         Increase the use of compostable food containers and cups and/or recycled content paper products.

·         Minimize the use of  Styrofoam products in food service

·         Reduced waste and increase in waste to be recycled

·         Participation in a growing market for environmentally preferable food service products

·         Public relations

Local Food

·         Increase the purchase of locally grown food

·         Participation and support of local food growers

·         Healthy eaters

Paint

·         Increase the use of indoor paints containing low or no volatile organic compounds

 

·         Reduced toxics

·         Improved indoor air quality

Furniture/Carpets

·         Specify furniture/carpet with low toxicity and higher quantities of recycled content and/or furniture/carpet that is more easily recycled at the end of use

·         Improved indoor air quality

·         Waste reduction due to longer life and recyclability

Fleets

·         Increase use of alternative fuel vehicles

·         Provide work place transportation options

·         Cost savings from reduced fuel use

Office Supplies

·         Increase purchase of environmentally preferable office supplies

·         Reduced toxics

·         Improved indoor air quality

·         Reduced waste from packaging

·         Improved efficacy for certain products