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Step one toward an organized, proactive way of supplying your office with a range of environmentally preferable products—everything from the copy paper and computers to the office fridge and the toilet paper—is with a green purchasing policy in place. And that goes for offices with a handful of employees up to those whose numbers reach into the thousands.

How to draft an environmental purchasing policy

• Get the nod from the top. To bolster its chances for success, get commitment for an environmental purchasing policy from your company’s upper echelon before you wade in too deeply. Speak to bottom-line concerns. Environmentally preferable products can carry a small price premium or none at all. However, the cost of products whose eco-version is pricier can sometimes be offset by savings from more efficient operations. For instance, ENERGY STAR-qualified computers promise up to a 70 percent reduction in energy usage, which translates to lower electric bills and fewer greenhouse gases emitted. To put a cap on spending for green products, you could set a limit of 10 to 15 percent above conventional office product costs.

• Take a team approach. Depending upon the size and structure of your company, it may pay to develop your eco-purchasing policy via committee. The procurement or purchasing department may wish to include representatives from all departments and management, as well as an environmental manager if there’s one on board, to gain different perspectives and assessment of needs. Involving more people may also help to instill a sense of ownership of the plan and overcome any resistance to the changes.

• Keep it simple, to start. Green purchasing policies can be quite broad like the Alameda County Waste Management and Source Reduction and Recycling Board’s policy. Or they may deal with one product, such as paper, in the case of OfficeMax’s paper procurement policy. A comprehensive policy that includes a wide scope of office products without going into exhaustive detail should suffice for most offices. You can always add to the document later. For guidance, look at the Final Guidance on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as the Appendices to that document, which have valuable information.

• Go slow. Don’t expect to green your office overnight. You may even want to start with a test phase to work out any kinks in the plan. During that time you might buy new products in small quantities to see if they meet your expectations before making large purchases.

Sample purchasing policy

Use this sample policy from the Natural Resources Defense Council to get your company moving:

This environmental purchasing policy of XYZ Company has been set up to provide guidance in the purchasing of products and services that meet the environmental goals of our company. Purchasing preference (whenever feasible) will be given to products that:

1. Cut back on greenhouse gas emissions or are made with renewable energy (i.e. ENERGY STAR computers, hybrid company cars).
2. Decrease the use of toxins detrimental to human health and to the environment.
3. Contain the highest possible percentage of post-consumer recycled content (a finished material that would normally be thrown away as solid waste at the end of its life cycle, and does not include manufacturing or converting wastes).
4. Cut back on air, land, and/or water pollution.
5. Reduce the amount of waste they produce.
6. Are reusable or contain reusable parts (rechargeable batteries, refillable pens, etc.).
7. Are multifunctional (i.e., scanner/copier/printers, multipurpose cleaners) and serve to decrease the total number of products purchased.

Favor will also be given to suppliers who offer environmentally preferable products, who work to exceed their environmental performance expectations, and who can show documentation of their supply-chain impacts.

Environmentally preferable products and services of similar quality and price to conventional counterparts should gain a purchasing preference. When the greenest option is not available, too costly, or impractical, XYZ Company should look at how the products are produced, as well as the environmentally and socially responsible management practices of suppliers and producers.

The XYZ Company policy of purchasing environmentally preferable products is one element in our continuing, long-range commitment to the environment. By adopting this policy, we hope to likewise engage the producers and suppliers of office products and services we use to utilize business practices that also reduce their impact on the environment.

Drafting an environmental purchasing plan helps you go green because...

• Your office is making a formal commitment to increase the amount of environmentally sensitive goods it uses, which will lower your company’s negative effect on the earth.

Offices require significant amounts of energy, water, paper, and other supplies and equipment to run efficiently. The quantity of copy paper alone used in the US each year consumes the amount of wood needed to build 1 million American homes and uses enough energy to power all the households in Los Angeles annually.[1] Making green purchasing policies a part of your company’s modus operandi is an important move toward limiting your corporate footprint on the earth in a number of ways. Reducing waste, limiting toxics and other pollutants, increasing electronic office product efficiency, and conserving natural resources are among the most crucial.

The EPA created the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program in 1993 to help green federal offices; no small undertaking since the government is one of the world’s biggest consumers, spending an estimated $350 billion for goods and services each year. This program helped to pave the way for businesses to green their own offices by fueling market demand for eco-friendly products and services.[2]

Today, corporate green purchasing policies are becoming more common. In the offices of Badger, which makes Badger Balm and other body care products, employees use 100 percent post-consumer, non-chlorine bleached paper, marketing materials are printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified, 100 percent recycled paper, biodegradable cleaning supplies and soaps are used, and toilet paper and paper towels are made from post-consumer waste. Financial giant Wells Fargo’s responsible purchasing at many of its stores and office buildings includes sustainable carpets, no furniture made from exotic woods, and preference given to ENERGY STAR equipment.

External links

• GreenBiz - Buying Recycled
• Resource Saver - Green Office Guide
• Resource Venture - Green Purchasing
• Buy Recycled Business Alliance - Buy Recycled Guidebook
• Worldwatch Institute - Selected Green Purchasing Resources
• King County, WA - Environmental Purchasing Program
• Environmental Leader - OfficeMax Releases New Paper Procurement Policy, Activists Giddy
• Arizona State University Web Devil - New policy brings green purchasing requirements
• Natural Resources Defense Council - Greening Advisor: Office-Wide Purchasing Policy
• Alameda County Waste Management and Source Reduction and Recycling Board - Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Model Policy