About the Great Lakes Green Purchasing Consortium
The Delta Institute is establishing the Great Lakes Green Purchasing Consortium to harness the large scale purchasing power of public and private organizations throughout the Great Lakes region. We will be focusing our efforts in Chicago, IL, West Michigan, and Milwaukee, WI. Through purchasing, the Consortium will achieve quantifiable environmental gains with respect to toxic use reduction, resource efficiency, and waste minimization and elimination. Connected to the Consortium will be an open access web site that provides users with technical information about green products and provides a venue for peer-to-peer networking about green products.
Our vision is to transform the Great Lakes region into a demand center for green products and make green purchasing mainstream by employing regionally scaled market based strategies to purchase green products coupled with the use of cutting edge web technology. Ultimately, through demand for green products we hope to bring companies that manufacture and distribute those products to the Great Lakes region.
Members of the Consortium will have access to the Delta Institute’s technical assistance to green their purchasing activities as well as networking opportunities with regional and national green purchasing professionals.
The Delta Institute has already convened the first national public-private purchasing consortium in West Michigan- West Michigan Sustainable Purchasing Consortium. The West Michigan group includes large manufacturers, universities, and local government that are pooling purchasing volumes to buy green products. The Delta Institute and their partner, SRG, administers the consortium for the group as well as provides technical assistance on green products.
Keep checking the Delta Institute website for updates on this challenging and transformative program. For more information about the Great Lakes Green Purchasing Consortium contact:
Abigail Corso
(312) 554-0900 x 25
acorso@delta-institute.org
Western Michigan Sustainable Purchasing Consortium (WMSPC)
The Western Michigan Sustainable Purchasing Consortium has been formed to provide area companies, organizations, and institutions with an easy and cost-effective way to purchase sustainable materials, products and services in a manner that reflects fiscal responsibility, social equity, community and environmental stewardship with an emphasis on local benefits.
The Consortium is supported by the Community Sustainability Partners (www.grpartners.org). The Community Sustainability Partnership is a diverse network of community organizations in West Michigan who embrace and support sustainability guiding principles in their planning and operations and are striving to make a positive impact in our community. Establishing the Western Michigan Sustainable Purchasing Consortium is one way the Partnership is making an impact.
The Western Michigan Sustainable Purchasing Consortium is open to businesses and organizations interested in purchasing environmentally responsible products and services. The benefits to organizations that purchase sustainable products through the Consortium will include:
- Access to information about sustainable products and services
- Social, economic, and environmental benefits from purchasing sustainable products and services
- Participation in a regional partnership
- Cost savings on sustainable products from collective purchasing
The WMSPC has the ability to contract with vendors for environmentally preferable goods and services at lower prices because of the collective purchasing ability of the Consortium. It is managed by an independent third party, the Delta Institute and SRG, who are responsible for researching and identifying green products, developing and bidding contracts, managing vendors, and maintaining the Consortium website.
The idea of a purchasing consortium was formed when a group of Grand Rapids area businesses, academic institutions, and a municipality convened to discuss voluntary, pro-active programs that would address ecosystem impairments in the Lower Grand River Watershed. The Ecosystem-based Environmental Management System (Eco-EMS), developed by the Delta Institute, is a decision-making tool for prioritizing environmental initiatives for a facility. The Eco-EMS compares environmental performance to local environmental conditions and identifies efficient ways to improve environmental performance and strengthen a facility’s commitment to environmental stewardship. Click here for more information about Ecosystem-based Environmental Management Systems.
We look forward to your input and eventual participation in the Western Michigan Sustainable Purchasing Consortium. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Abigail Corso
Delta Institute
(312) 554-0900 x 25
Bill Stough
Sustainable Research Group
(616) 301-1059
