List of Existing Best Practices | United States

Public

Organization, Initiative and WebsiteShort SynopsisKey Words
Austin, Texas

City of Austin Website

References specific products and companies and defines Austin’s environmental purchasing objectives. Also includes a list of additional resources.
  • Policy

  • Resource Centre

California

Buy Recycled

Focuses on California’s "Buy Recycled" initiative. Includes access to California’s Recycled Content Product Database and sample green purchasing policies.
  • Database

  • Policies

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP)

Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines

EnergyStar

EPA offers EPP Guiding Principles; links to many EPP resources, and case studies of successful programs; several guides covering topics such as: greening your purchase of cleaning products, electronics, carpet, copiers, food service-ware, meetings and conferences; comprehensive database including contract language, voluntary standards and guidelines, and product environmental attributes.

EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) is a recycled-content product's database.

The Energy Star is an energy efficiency certification.

  • Resource Centre

  • Specifications

  • Guides

  • Databases

  • Certification

Federal House in Order (FHIO)

Green Procurement

Reports guidelines; programs and committees; best practices; tips and facts; tools; success stories; and links.
  • Resource Centre

Florida Department of Management Services

National Association of State Purchasing Officials Database of Recycled Commodities

Identifies thousands of recycled content products. The site is free, but requires users to register.
  • Product Database

Georgia

Environmental Considerations

Describes Georgia’s efforts to promote recycled-content and energy-efficiency purchases and to base costs on a lifecycle cost perspective rather than initial cost.
  • Guidelines

  • Policies

Government Purchasing Project

Website

Provides a listing of environmentally preferable purchasing policies at the federal, state, and, local level. Areas of focus include wood reduction, green buildings, paper, and energy.
  • Policies

King County, Washington

Environmental Purchasing Program

Includes the program's annual report, summaries of the county's experience with recycled-content products, model buy-recycled contract language, and links to other related Web sites.
  • Policy and Guide

  • Contract Language

  • Database

Massachusetts Commonwealth

Environmentally Preferable Products Procurement Program

Health Care Environmental Purchasing Specification Database

Extensive program that includes: reports, handbooks, specifications, policies and regulations, specific products and services information, checklists, contracts, events, links, contacts, conference, and much more. They also host a database of Specifications and Policies for Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) in Health Care.
  • Resource Centre

  • Specifications

  • Checklists

  • Guidelines

  • Heath Care Database

Michigan

Department of Environmental Quality

Provides information to Michigan purchasers about the environmental impacts of their purchasing decisions. Includes several newsletters with information on paint, cleaning products, and energy-efficient purchases.
  • Information

  • Guidelines

Minnesota

Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance

Recommends a useful method for selecting environmental criteria and includes several product examples. Also includes a link to Minnesota’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guide and links to numerous other environmental purchasing resources.
  • Guide

  • Resource Centre

New Jersey

State of New Jersey Website

Links to New Jersey’s Recycled Products Guide and an executive order mandating recycled-content purchases.
  • Guide

  • Policy

North Carolina

Environmentally Preferred Procurement

Includes links to a state statute and executive order requiring environmental purchasing, North Carolina’s 2000 Buy Recycled Report outlining the state’s purchases of recycled-content, and information about buying recycled-content products in North Carolina.
  • Resource Centre

Office of the Federal Environmental Executive

The White House Task Force on Waste Prevention and Recycling, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

A task force that assists Federal agencies to promote the acquisition of recycled content, environmentally preferable, and bio-based products. It covers a Model Agency Affirmative Procurement Plan (Guidance for Contents and Organization); a list serve; links to various federal programs; green purchasing training to agency contracting, environmental; and facilities staff; Federal Acquisition Regulation and much more.
  • Resource Centre

  • Legislation

  • Training

  • Network

Ohio

Office of Pollution Prevention

Includes a list of links to help introduce Ohio purchasers to green purchasing.
  • Resource Centre

Pennsylvania

Governor’s Green Government Council

Provides information about the Governor’s Green Government Council, including information about the state’s efforts to build green buildings, buy green power, and increase green purchasing. Identifies numerous state contracts for environmentally preferable products and services.
  • Resource Centre

Phoenix, Arizona

City of Phoenix

Describes the city’s hazardous materials purchasing program and includes links to an online material safety data sheet (MSDS) database to review the hazards associated with the city’s purchases.
  • Program

  • MSDS database

Santa Monica, California

City of Santa Monica Website

Describes the city’s purchasing policies for recycled-content products, certified wood, low toxicity cleaning products, low emission vehicles, and environmentally responsible printing. It also includes copies of Santa Monica’s innovative cleaning product specifications.
  • Policy

  • Guidelines

Sarasota County, Florida

Sarasota County Website

They have included a comprehensive environmentally preferable purchasing policy in their latest Procurement Code to express their commitment to buying green products and services. They also stated in the Code that total life cycle costing of a product or service is legitimate criteria upon which to award a contract. Training is underway to ensure that the policy will be well implemented.
  • Procurement code

Seattle, Washington

Copernicus

Copernicus is the City of Seattle's project to re-engineer contracting, which includes green purchasing policies and procedures.
  • Policy

Vermont State Office of Purchasing

The Vermont Clean State Initiative

Encouraging environmentally preferable purchasing by listing items to include in specifications, maintaining a green product's guide and providing links to other helpful sites.

Beware; some reports and tools are out of date.

  • Specifications

  • Checklists

WasteWise, an EPA program

Website

WasteWise is a free, voluntary, EPA program through which organizations eliminate costly municipal solid waste, benefiting their bottom line and the environment. WasteWise is a flexible program that allows partners to design their own solid waste reduction programs tailored to their needs.
  • Solid waste

Western Area Power Administration (WAPA)

Greening the Government

The "Greening the Government" program is based on executive orders and other greening directives, along with Western Area Power Administration Greening Directives. It includes Executive orders, links for information, reports, presentations and contacts.
  • Executive Orders

  • Resource Centre


Private & Not-for-Profit

Organization, Initiative and WebsiteShort SynopsisKey Words
Aveda

Aveda Environmental Sustainability

Included in the environmental sustainability policy is a dedication to purchasing bio-industrial products using the Standard for Sustainable Agriculture (by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy).
  • Policy

  • Use of standards

Cargill Dow LLC

NatureWorks PLA

Included in the environmental sustainability policy is a dedication to purchasing bio-industrial products using the Standard for Sustainable Agriculture (by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy) and therefore fabricating performance plastics made from annually renewable resources.
  • Policy

  • Use of standards

Center for a New American Dream

Procurement Strategies

Compilation, in a searchable online database, of a vast inventory of efforts to buy less polluting products from less polluting companies. The website includes existing environmental purchasing policies and guidelines, best practices, environmentally preferable products and services, and links to other resources.
  • Resource Centre

  • Policies

Center for Study of Responsive Law & The Resource Conservation Alliance

Government Purchasing Project (GPP)

Ensures environmentally preferable purchasing at the federal, state and local levels including green building, activism, policies and Executive Orders, information on current issues, and more.
  • Legislation

Certified Forest Products Council

Website

Verifies sustainable forestry standards, including those developed by the Forest Stewardship Council.
  • Wood Certification

Chlorine Free Products Association

Website

Labels chlorine-free products. Includes a list of certified chlorine-free products.
  • Certification

  • Chlorine-free

Co-op America's Green Pages Online

Website

A comprehensive U.S. listing of socially and environmentally responsible businesses including over 25,000 products and services from 2,000 green companies. Products and services are qualified under Co-op America's evaluation criteria.
  • Directory / Listing

DLA Training Center (DTC)

Buying Green: A Multifunctional Approach to Pollution Prevention

2-day workshop that provides an overview of the Federal pollution prevention initiatives and how they relate to the DoD acquisition process. Topics include: P2 Laws/Executive Orders/Regulations, Affirmative Procurement Program, environmentally preferred products, life cycle costing, acquisition planning, FAR requirements.
  • Training

Environmental Defence Fund

Website

They link science, economics and law to create innovative, equitable and cost-effective solutions to society's most urgent environmental problems. A good source of U.S environmental information.
  • Information

Forest Ethics

Green Purchasing

Challenges all companies to adopt a formal forest product purchasing policy and provides examples and information.
  • Forestry Policy

The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI)

Website

GEMI is a non-profit organization of leading companies dedicated to fostering environmental, health and safety excellence and corporate citizenship world-wide through the sharing of tools and information in order for business to help business achieve environmental excellence.
  • Corporate Citizenship

Green Order

Website

Matches government buyers of environmentally preferable goods and services with suppliers.
  • Information

  • Consulting

Green Seal

Website

Green Seal provides certifications and standards for products and services. They offer green purchasing services: instituting or improving green purchasing; lists of recommended products, standards, criteria, and contract language; environmental or financial justification for environmental purchases.
  • Certification

Home Depot

Wood Purchasing Policy

Home Depot sells wood that is certified under Forestry Stewardship Council and also offers a wide range of products that are certified by a third party for their environmental performance.
  • Certified wood and other products

Ikea

Code of Conduct

The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products

This document is their Code of Conduct in our relation with suppliers of products for the IKEA range. The Code of Conduct is the minimum requirements on Social & Working conditions and Environment.
  • Policy

  • Use of standards

INFORM

Website

Includes information on several programs designed to reduce the environmental impacts of the U.S. economy through improved product design and environmentally preferable purchasing.
  • Information

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Environmentally preferable products (EPP) purchasing program

Some of the program initiatives: Recycled Products Quick Reference Guide; Remanufactured Toner Cartridge Reference Guide; Battery Recycling and Rechargeable Battery Reference Sheet.
  • Guidelines - Product Specific

Minolta Co., LTD., Minolta Affiliated Companies

Minolta Green Procurement Guidelines

Minolta is actively promoting environmental preservation through their green procurement system in order to introduce and provide products and service with less impact to the environment.
  • Policy - Example and Guide

National Association of Counties

Website

Describes the efforts of U.S. counties to adopt environmental purchasing strategies. Includes an order form for their highly regarded "Environmental Purchasing Starter Kit" and links to additional resources.
  • Starter Kit

  • Resource Centre

National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc.

Webinar: "Technical curriculum for the public procurement profession" by Scot Case, Center for a New American Dream.

The course is designed to show how government purchasers are identifying and buying affordable environmentally preferable products and to make it easy for purchasing officials to integrate environmental considerations into traditional selection criteria.
  • Training

National Wildlife Federation

Campus Ecology Program

Provides information to help colleges and universities become living models of an ecologically sustainable society, including by greening their purchasing practices.
  • Information

  • Programs

Northeast Recycling Council, Inc. (NERC)

Environmentally Preferable Products Procurement List Serve (EPPnet)

Environmental Benefits Calculator

Quick access to information, such as: availability of product specifications, vendors of particular products, pricing information, and strategies to achieve recycled product procurement goals and federal procurement policies. The environmental benefits calculator is a tool for U.S.- based states, municipalities, universities and businesses to measure the environmental benefits of their recycling efforts.
  • List Serve

Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center

Website

Topical reports on environmental purchasing including resources from federal, state, local and international governments, non-profit and trade associations, list serves, case studies, and green product databases. A newsletter entitled "Sustainability & Green Procurement: Getting Down to Brass Tacks" includes important tools.
  • Resource Centre

  • Reports

  • Databases

Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center (P2RIC)

P2ric topic hub for Green Procurement

A thorough compilation of pertinent on-line resources, including incentives and benefits, implementation steps, lists of organizations, experts, databases and over 226 links.
  • Resource Centre

  • Databases

Rainforest Alliance

Website

They run programs such as Sustainable Agriculture, which certifies environmentally and socially responsible agricultural products; SmartWood that certifies environmentally and socially responsible forest management and Sustainable Tourism Program (STP) that works to transform business practices and traveller behaviour to support environmentally and socially sound tourism operations.
  • Certification

  • Ecotourism

Recycled Products Purchasing Cooperative

Website

A cooperative of US based businesses and public institutions that have joined their purchasing power to encourage suppliers to offer recycled paper and other products at reduced rates.
  • Resource Centre

  • Recycled Products

Scientific Certification Systems

Website

Independent, third party certification of environmental and food safety achievements.
  • Certification

Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board

Environmental Preferable Purchasing Guide

The Guide will: identify ways you can reduce waste in your office, shop, or facility; write environmental specifications into your bid solicitations; locate surplus and reuse programs to obtain low-cost or used equipment and supplies; and choose more environmentally preferable products in over 30 categories.
  • Guide

  • Checklists

  • Specifications

Staples

Environmental Paper Procurement Policy

As part of Staples' environmental commitment, they have developed a comprehensive policy for recycled content in paper and paper products.
  • Policy

Starbucks

Commitment to Origins

Starbucks offers four categories of sustainable coffees: Fair Trade, Organic, Farm Direct, and Conservation. In conjunction with Conservation International, Starbucks has developed Coffee Sourcing Guidelines.
  • Certified coffee

  • Guidelines

Tellus Institute

Supply Chain Management Program ? Resource Management

Researching and implementing a contracting technique called Resource Management (RM), a contracting model for solid waste management in which waste generators and contractors share financial benefits from "resource efficiency" innovations, including source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. RM changes the nature of current disposal services to support waste minimisation and recycling.
  • Resource Management

U.S. Green Building Council

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Describes the process and requirements for evaluating the environmental performance of a building. Many state and local governments are incorporating the LEED criteria into their construction and renovation projects.
  • Building Standard

Worldwatch Institute

Website

Independent research organization working for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society. Raising public awareness by providing information on inter-disciplinary and non-partisan research on prevalent environmental issues.
  • Information

  • Research