Please visit the new Responsible Purchasing Network website at: www.ResponsiblePurchasing.org.

Developing an Environmental Purchasing Policy

Many successful environmental purchasing efforts start with policies. Policies provide a helpful framework for implementing environmental purchasing practices. Environmental purchasing polices typically describe the importance of environmental purchasing, identify desired environmental product attributes, and designate initial commodities on which to focus.

The following resources provide information useful for writing or updating an environmental purchasing policy:

• Scot Case. “Policy Updates Inspire Environmental Purchasing.” Government Procurement, February 2004, 4 pages. Available at http://www.newdream.org/procure/Updates_Inspire_Env_Purch.pdf.
  
  Recommends successful strategies and policy elements to be included when developing or updating an environmental purchasing policy. Recommendations are based on a review of more than 80 purchasing policies nationwide.
  
  
• Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the North American Green Purchasing Initiative. Environmental Purchasing Policies 101: An Overview of Current Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policies. March 2004, 42 pages. Available at http://www.cec.org/files/pdf//NAGPI%20Policy%20Paper2e.pdf.
  
  Reviews more than 80 environmental purchasing policies from across North America to identify the most relevant policy components. Includes a recommended purchasing policy that incorporates the findings.
  
  
• Center for a New American Dream’s Institutional Purchasing Program. Green Purchasing Policies. Available at http://www.newdream.org/procure/policy/index.php.
  
  Lists purchasing policies by jurisdiction, product category, environmental attributes, and type of policy.

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