Looking for ideas, questions, specifications or general sustainability info? Check out some of these sites.
Multnomah County Surplus - Search for surplus items within the County
Executive Order (E.O.) 13514; Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance
EPA Environmentally Preferable Procurement - Presidential directive
Responsible Purchasing Network - Product guides, and tools for making purchasing decisions
EPPnet - listserv focusing on sustainable procurement for public purchasing professionals and experts.
METRO - Oregon Metro Goverment site contains useful resources for recycling and waste management
Multnomah County Recycling - Specific to County operations
NASPO Green Resources - National Association of State Procurement Officials
NASPO has developed this Green Purchasing Guide for its members and others to use in navigating the sea of information surrounding the adoption of a responsible purchasing program. This guide is intended to be a straight forward, easy-to-use document that provides purchasers with a basic understanding of the concept and benefits of green purchasing, offers recommended steps and proven strategies to enable the implementation of a green purchasing program, and supplies links to other resources offering detailed information on specific elements of the process.
Public Agencies with Sustainable Purchasing Programs
City of Santa Monica, California
City and County of San Fransisco
Product Evaluation Tools and Guides
BEES measures the environmental performance of building products by using the environmental life-cycle assessment approach specified in ISO 14040 standards. All stages in the life of a product are analyzed: raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and recycling and waste management. Economic performance is measured using the ASTM standard life-cycle cost method, which covers the costs of initial investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and disposal.
Electronics TakeBack Coalition
Provides a summary of purchasing tools to help you design specs for your electronics procurements.
Environmental Benefits Calculator
NERC's Environmental Benefits Calculator is a comprehensive tool usable by any state, region, county, town, institution, school, or business in the United States. Among the Calculator’s unique features are the environmental benefits of computer recycling and reuse calculator, an energy savings comparison chart, and an emissions savings comparison chart.
EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines
A key component of the CPG program is EPA's list of designated products and the accompanying recycled-content recommendations. EPA has already designated or is proposing to designate the products listed below. They are grouped into eight categories:
Green Cleaning Pollution Prevention Calculator
The Green Cleaning Pollution Prevention Calculator quantifies the projected environmental benefits of purchasing and using "green" janitorial services and products. It is designed to forecast the environmental benefits of reducing chemical use by doing some or all pollution prevention measures typically involved in the routine interior cleaning of an office building. This tool also enables users to identify which green cleaning measures will have the greatest impact in reducing their use of hazardous chemicals and in preventing pollution.
The Calculator's output applies only to standard office cleaning products and practices. It does not apply to other building maintenance issues, such as equipment maintenance, pest control, or landscaping activities.
This tool, from the Environmental Defense Fund, will help you quantify the benefits of better paper choices. The Paper Calculator shows the environmental impacts of different papers across their full lifecycle.
Topic Specific "Green" Resources
EcoLabels/Certification Programs
BIFMA ( Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association)
BIFMA is a not-for-profit organization that develops voluntary product and industry standards that support safe, healthy and sustainable environments; publish key industry statistics; advocate for legislation and government regulation that has a direct impact on the health of the industry; and facilitate meaningful dialog and education to support core services and the industry they serve.
Ecolabel Index - General database of ecolabels
Global directory of ecolabels. Provides a database of ecolabels that you can browse by county and product/industry sector. This tool can help identify legitimate labels and certification standards.
EcoLogo - Goods and services
EcoLogo provides customers – public, corporate and consumer – with assurance that the products and services bearing the logo meet stringent standards of environmental leadership. With THOUSANDS of EcoLogo Certified products, EcoLogo certifies environmental leaders covering a large variety of categories, helping you find and trust the world’s most sustainable products.
ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. There is a section for finding products for business and government use that focussed on commercial products that we are more likely to use and includes:
- Building products (roof products, windows, doors, skylights)
- Commercial Appliances (Commercial washers, vending machines, coolers)
- Commercial Food Service Equipment (Dishwashers, fryers, griddles, ice machines)
- Computers and Electronics (Audio/Video, battery chargers, computers, monitors, servers, tvs)
- Heating and Cooling (AC, boilers, fans, heat pumps)
- Lighting (Commercial LED lighting, CFLs, light fixtures, LED bulbs)
- Plumbing (Water heaters: gas, solar, high efficiency)
EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) - Computers and Electronics
Products registered in EPEAT must meet 23 required environmental performance criteria. They are then rated Gold, Silver or Bronze based on the percentage of 28 optional criteria they meet. Products are registered by country so you can see their registration details for wherever you buy products. EPEAT operates an ongoing verification program to assure the accuracy of the registry
Forest Stewardship Council - product search: wood products, paper, board
As a multi-stakeholder organization, FSC applies the directive of its membership to develop forest management and chain of custody standards, deliver trademark assurance and provide accreditation services to a global network of committed businesses, organizations and communities. FSC certification provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.
GreenGuard - Healthy Indoor Environments
GREENGUARD Environmental Institute certifies products and materials for low chemical emissions and provides a resource for choosing healthier products and materials for indoor environments. All certified products must meet stringent chemical emissions standards based on established criteria from key public health agencies.
Green Seal - Goods and Services
Develops life cycle-based sustainability standards for products, services and companies and offers third-party certification for those that meet the criteria in the standard. Areas of certification include:
- Household products
- Construction Materials
- Paints and Coatings
- Printing and Writing Paper
- Paper Towels, Napkins and Tissue Paper
LEED rating system for buildings
LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
There are currently nine LEED rating systems
- New Construction
- Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance
- Commercial Interiors
- Core and Shell
- Schools
- Retail
- Healthcare
- Homes
- Neighborhood Development
RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances) - Electrical and Electronic Equipment
These EU Regulations implement EU Directive 2002/95 which bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.
As the U.S does not have a similar regulation this site can provide guidelines for specifying acceptable levels of these substances in products that we wish to buy.
SmartWay - Transportation
In its simplest form, the SmartWay brand identifies products and services that reduce transportation-related emissions. However, the impact of the brand is much greater as the SmartWay brand signifies a partnership among government, business and consumers to protect our environment, reduce fuel consumption, and improve our air quality for future generations.
Healthcare
Green Guide for Health Care The Green Guide for Health Care borrows the credit numbering scheme and credit outline structure of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED® family of products, by agreement, with some modifications. Each credit has the following elements:
- Intent — Summarizes the credit goal.
- Health Issues — (new to the Green Guide) Identifies specific health concerns addressed by the credit. Health Issues are periodically reviewed by Dr. Ted Schettler, M.D., MPH.
- Credit Goals — Itemizes the specific steps to achieve the credit including threshold goals.
- Suggested Documentation — Suggests documentation to monitor and baseline performance and to benchmark achievement of the Credit Goals. The Green Guide is a voluntary self-certifying document that does not offer third party certification. Green Guide users are encouraged to establish internal record keeping and tracking systems to support ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement.
Together with their partners around the world, Health Care Without Harm shares a vision of a health care sector that does no harm, and instead promotes the health of people and the environment. To that end, they are working to implement ecologically sound and healthy alternatives to health care practices that pollute the environment and contribute to disease. Website provides information and resources to help you identify impacts and choose alternatives:
- Safer Chemicals
- Toxic Materials
- Healthy Food Systems
- Green Purchasing
- Waste Management
Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Members include hospitals, healthcare systems, businesses and other stakeholders engaged in the greening of healthcare to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment.
Wood Products
Forest Stewardship Council product search: wood products, paper, board
As a multi-stakeholder organization, FSC applies the directive of its membership to develop forest management and chain of custody standards, deliver trademark assurance and provide accreditation services to a global network of committed businesses, organizations and communities. FSC certification provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.
Rainforest Relief selection guide
This section provides information about what wood types and products to avoid, and ecologically and socially preferable alternatives.