GreenYour.com

Starting a green purchasing policy in your office and not monitoring its performance is like going on a diet but never stepping on a scale. Your company may have a sense for how the attempt is faring, but backing up the policy with numbers provides a solid foundation to base future efforts on. It also allows employees to see firsthand the eco-differences occurring around the office.

How to track progress and set long-term goals

• Get out the tools. Measuring the effects and impacts of new eco-friendly products and practices in your office is a far cry from compiling financial data—the meat and potatoes of business. There are a number of parameters to consider, as well as the fact that these tracking methodologies are just beginning to be formulated and agreed upon. Here are some tools that may help:
  • This model tracking form for environmental purchases developed by the Minnesota Department of Administration comes with a set of environmental codes for tracking purchases.
  • The California Integrated Waste Management Board has come up with a sample annual purchases summary and a sample supply requisition form, which includes total recycled content and post-consumer content.
  • Paper is a major component in offices, and The Paper Calculator designed by Environmental Defense lets you compare the environmental impacts of papers made with varying amounts of recycled content. You can also see how reducing paper use lowers environmental impact. Easy-to-read reports summarize the results.
  • Find out how much electricity and money your company is saving (or could save) with ENERGY STAR computers by using this Life Cycle Cost Estimate Calculator. For those firms with EPEAT-certified computers, try this Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator, which not only factors in energy savings but also savings in virgin material use, carbon dioxide emissions, air emissions, water emissions, toxic materials, plus solid and hazardous waste generation.
  • If part of your office environmental procurement plan leads to waste reduction (i.e., you now use certain items that are recyclable instead of disposable) you may want to join a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program called WasteWise. This free program helps you audit your office’s solid waste output, offers strategies for reducing waste, and assists in tracking your refuse-reduction efforts.

• Survey the scene. Find out how your employees using green office products like them. Conduct a simple survey six months or a year after making the move to green your workplace. If users of these products support them, the program is more likely to succeed. Another way to elicit enthusiasm might be to purchase a group reward with part of the money saved by, for example, using new energy-efficient equipment.

• Write a report. Submit an annual performance review to management showing how the green purchasing policy is playing out. Also consider turning in short progress reports on a more frequent interval to keep higher-ups informed of achievements or of newly surfacing trends or issues.

• Applaud your efforts. Give your green office purchasing policy some time for the effects to be measured and then determine if there are any corporate environmental awards you can apply for. Gaining recognition for reducing your office’s impact on the earth is a good way to benchmark your efforts. Winning an award may also boost your eco-image in the eyes of employees, customers, shareholders, and the general public. Look for local or regional awards, or nationally, the EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track is one such program that recognizes corporate environmental excellence.

Tracking progress and setting long-term goals helps you go green because…

• Measuring the differences that your office greening program is producing shows what areas the company is strong in and what parts of the program need tweaking.
• Setting long-term goals will keep your office greening efforts from stagnating, ensuring that increasingly ambitious goals will continue to decrease the company’s eco-footprint.

Businesses need to be able to quantify the results of their green office purchasing programs, both from a financial standpoint and an environmental view. Tracking and documenting product performance, pinpointing areas that need improvement, and identifying cost savings and cost drains all should be examined to maximize the results. Delineating the positive effects these green products and practices are having on the environment, while not easy to do, should provide the icing on the cake.

Using these metrics also allows corporations to adjust goals if needed. Among its goals, the City of Seattle aims to purchase office supplies with 20 percent recycled content and paper made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled content, as well as reduce paper use by 30 percent.[1] Long-term goals like this allow programs to continually move forward.

Greening the workplace may also uncover unexpected measurable and unmeasurable—but still important—corporate benefits. Purchases that include greener (and healthier) paint, furniture, cleaners, and carpet can reduce illness and absenteeism, help retain employees, boost job performance, reduce stress, and increase creative thinking. Employee morale may also spike for those who value the company’s efforts to go green, which may lead to a more highly motivated, productive staff.

Though equipping an office with green supplies can cost more than running a conventional office—a 2 to 4 percent premium by one estimate—competition among earth-friendly suppliers is helping to drop prices.[2] Costs may be reduced by lower waste management fees. Savings in energy, water, fuel, and other resources can also help businesses recoup some of their investment. When considering three different light bulb choices, Jenni Cawein, manager of environmental health and safety engineering at the giant Baxter Healthcare Corporation, did the math and found that the cheapest bulb that used more energy and didn't last as long would ultimately cost the company $50 million more than the most efficient, longest-lasting light bulb.[3] That’s not a drop in the bucket!

External links

• Time Magazine - Going Green at the Office
• Green Living Ideas - Eco Office Energy Efficiency
• The North American Green Purchasing Initiative
• Smart Company - Go Green or Risk Fading to Black
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP): Hands-On Tools
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development - Measuring Eco-Efficiency: A guide to reporting company performance
• The North American Green Purchasing Initiative’s - Eco-S.A.T.: A Green Purchasing Self-Assessment Tool