Green Purchasing
Workgroup Technical Resources/Presentations

U-Med Overview, "Making the Business Case for Zero Waste" (4.56 PDF)

What is Green Purchasing?
Green purchasing or “environmentally preferable purchasing” is the building block for all other green or sustainable activities within an organization because it requires new thinking about every item an organization uses by identifying the characteristics and the value at the three stages of an item’s organizational life:

• What is purchased—its chemical and material composition;
• How it is used—its operations and maintenance, and its longevity; and lastly
• Disposal of each item.
  

Because of this, making purchasing decisions that are more sustainable/green is difficult. Identifying the value of an item needs to include the value at each of the three stages, yet the evaluation criteria at each stage are different. This is what makes quantifying the value received throughout the life of an item difficult, which means it’s also difficult to make purchasing decisions with certainty about its green-ness.

Defining Green Purchasing
Defined, green purchasing is the selection and acquisition of products and services that most effectively minimize negative environmental impacts over their life cycle of manufacturing, transportation, use and recycling or disposal.

It includes purchasing recycled-content products, recyclable or reusable products, bio-based products, energy- and water-efficient products, alternative fuel vehicles, products using renewable energy, and alternatives to hazardous or toxic chemicals. It includes acquiring green services as well.

Strategies for Evaluating Green Purchasing: Ownership Costs and Life-Cycle Costs (Excerpt from Alameda County, CA Implementation Guidance for ModelEnvironmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy)
Certain products may have a higher initial purchase cost, but may require less maintenance or long-term costs over the life of the product, so it is important that buyers consider short-term and long-term costs in comparing product alternatives, when feasible. This includes evaluation of total costs expected during the time a product is owned, including, but not limited to, acquisition, extended warranties, operation, supplies, maintenance, disposal costs and expected lifetime compared to other alternatives. Examples of products for which such cost comparisons can indicate significant differences between short- and long-term costs include, but are not limited to, janitorial towels and tissues (including installation and dispensing hardware), parking stops, park benches and tables, office equipment, software and vehicles.

This kind of comparison is sometimes referred to as “ownership costs” or “life cycle costs.” “Ownership costs” best describes the purpose here of calculating the cost of owning the product during the purchased use time. “Life cycle costs” is more complex and not specifically required. It more accurately describes an analysis of the impacts of products from initial resource extraction, through production, use, and then through disposition after use. For an example comparing the costs of purchase and use of traditional concrete parking stops with recycled plastic parking stops, see Alameda County, CA Fact Sheet on “Recycled Content Transportation Products in Alameda County.”

Visit Green Star—Learn More
Green Star, one of U-Med’s supporting organizations, encourages green purchasing throughout the business community, but realizes it may be difficult for both large and small organizations to implement. Green Star has sought to create purchasing co-ops for certain items, such as recycled paper. Currently, Green Star is working to identify local sources for a variety of green products and services, as well as providing information about how to establish green purchasing policies and procedures.

Join Green Star—Get Pricing Discounts
Green Star has cultivated a variety of member discounts with local businesses featuring green purchasing opportunities. These include discounts on bioware products, green cleaning supplies, and others. Green Star hopes to be a catalyst for information transfer within the U-Med District, highlighting successes and disseminating information to help all the organizations involved, and bringing that experience to others in the Anchorage community and beyond.

Model Green Purchasing Policy and Implementation Guidance
Alameda Policy
Alameda County Waste Management Authority Model Environmental—Implementation Guide
Office of the Federal Environmental Executive Green Purchasing Program
Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Environmentally Preferable Purchasing How To Guide
Green Star

Other Websites
Waste Prevention Guide for Anchorage Businesses
Alaska Building Science Network
E-Star online, everything from electronics to comparing buildings in like-climates