LibGuides: Green Business: Purchasing

About green purchasing

Green purchasing adds environmental considerations to the price and performance criteria that organizations use to make purchasing decisions. Green purchasing considers supply chain management and is also known as environmentally preferred purchasing (EPP), green procurement, affirmative procurement, eco-procurement, and environmentally responsible purchasing. Green purchasing attempts to identify and reduce environmental impact and to maximize resource efficiency.

Five guiding principles

Consider environmental factors in addition to price and performance.
Emphasize pollution prevention early in the purchasing process. Consider packaging and whether the product contains or produces toxics.
Examine multiple environmental attributes throughout a product's or service's life cycle. Look at the whole life of the product, from manufacture through use and disposal.
Compare relative environmental impacts when selecting products and services.
Collect and base purchasing decisions on accurate and meaningful information about environmental performance.

Getting started

5 steps to build the business case for sustainable procurement
It's not always easy to sell a supply-chain makeover, but these tips can help. Start with measuring your company's footprint.

Buying into the Environment by Christoph Erdmenger (Editor)
ISBN: 1874719675

Publication Date: 2003-01-01

Examines the prospects for and likely outcomes of the widespread uptake of leading-edge green purchasing practices in European cities. The most relevant product groups for eco-procurement are analysed, and solutions to barriers preventing their uptake proposed.
Closed Loop Supply Chains by Mark E. Ferguson (Editor); Gilvan C. Souza (Editor); Sameer Kumar (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9781420095258

Publication Date: 2010-04-21

Closed-loop supply chain activities such as remanufacturing, recycling, dismantling for spare parts, and reverse logistics have helped many companies tap into different revenue streams by finding secondary markets for their products, all while reducing their overall carbon footprint. This book discusses various closed-loop supply chain processes.

Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Registry
The Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Registry allows designers, builders and consumers to make decisions about products. The registry includes a certification scorecard, which summarizes levels achieved in five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness.

Environmental Issues in Supply Chain Management by Paulina Golinska (Editor); Carlos Andres Romano (Editor)
ISBN: 3642235611

Publication Date: 2012-06-07

The aim of the book is to present the emerging environmental issues in organization and management of complex supply chains. The book includes set of solutions which show different stakeholders' viewpoints on sustainability. The scope of book takes into consideration how the emerging environmental regulation might be transformed into business practices. Therefore, the authors present the innovative approach to eco-friendly organization and coordination of logistics processes and supply chain configuration. A broad scope of practical solutions from different countries and industries is provided.
Green Logistics by Alan C. McKinnon; Alan McKinnon
ISBN: 9780749458744

Publication Date: 2010-03-03

Green Logistics analyzes the environmental consequences of logistics and how to deal with them. Written by a leading team of logistics academics, the book examines ways of reducing these externalities and achieving a more sustainable balance between economic, environmental, and social objectives.

Green Purchasing
StopWaste.Org offers free fact sheets and other resources to help your organization make more sustainable purchasing decisions. Includes links to model purchasing policies and implementation guidance.

Greener Purchasing by Trevor Russel (Editor)
ISBN: 1874719047

Publication Date: 1998-01-01

A study of greener purchasing opportunities and innovations. Divided into four sections, covering "The Public Sector", "The Private Sector", "Innovations" and "Case Studies", it brings together expertise from four continents, including contributions from US EPA, Xerox and The Body Shop.
Greening the Supply Chain by Joseph Sarkis (Editor)
ISBN: 1846282985

Publication Date: 2006-07-20

Since the 1992 Rio summit, corporate environmental responsibility has grown beyond complying with increasingly stringent environmental regulation and taking up proactive initiatives. This work includes case studies of green supply chain practices which describe the complexities faced and their resolution.
Purchasing Power by Lisa Mastny; Thomas Prugh; Worldwatch Institute Staff (Contribution by)
ISBN: 187807170X

Publication Date: 2003-01-01

Through the things that they buy, large institutions wield great influence over the future of our planet. Nearly every institutional purchase, from office paper to buildings, entails hidden costs for the natural environment and the world's people. Shifting just a portion of that spending away from harmful goods and services to more environmentally friendly alternatives can benefit ecosystems and communities, save money, and send a powerful message to markets on behalf of more sustainable options. Although not a panacea, harnessing institutional purchasing may be one of the most powerful tools available for shifting patterns of production and consumption toward sustainability. A number of organizations are working hard to push institutional purchasers to respond to rising demands for a more sustainable world.

Responsible Purchasing Network
The Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) is an international network of buyers dedicated to socially responsible and environmentally sustainable purchasing. RPN memberships are available to federal, state, and local governments, institutions such as colleges and universities and nonprofit organizations, and most businesses.
SFApproved
The SF Approved List includes vendors, cost issues, and criteria for over 1,000 safer, more environmentally friendly products to help SF City Depts. and SF Green Businesses be in compliance. While it often includes institutional products only sold in bulk quantities, it also has products to green your home, small business, or large organization. Our list is not comprehensive; it is a summary of the work we've done to identify green products for the City.
U.S. EPA Identify Greener Products and Services
To help you buy "greener," EPA has summarized information about several categories of products and services, including: Environmental attributes to consider; How to buy; Useful resources.
U.S. EPA Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing
The Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels help federal purchasers identify and procure environmentally preferable products and services.
U.S. EPA Sustainable Marketplace: Greener Products and Services
Greener purchasing can catalyze a more sustainable marketplace for all – reducing climate impacts, improving the health of frontline communities, preventing pollution, and increasing U.S. industry competitiveness.
U.S. EPA Sustainable Purchasing Program Guidance: A Landscape Scan of Available Resources
To help you find the resource that is right for your organization, EPA conducted a scan of the landscape and developed summary profiles of some of the leading sources of sustainable purchasing guidance around the globe.
What Is a Green Procurement Policy? A Guide for Businesses
A green procurement or green purchasing policy (GPP) is put in place to guide businesses when acquiring materials, supplies and services and selecting such products based on their impact on the environment and human health. GPPs can apply to both products bought to run the business internally (Ex. office supplies and equipment) as well as for producing the goods and services of the business itself (Ex. materials used in business products).