Empowering Australian local governments to implement green purchasing

1. Empowering Australian local governments to implement green purchasing

2. Structure of presentation • Local governments as drivers for green purchasing • ICLEI • Green purchasing at the City of Melbourne • ICLEI’s Australian Green Purchasing Pilot Project • The next steps

3. Local governments as drivers • Spend a considerable amount of money(half of all government spending in Europe) • Capacity to act, innovate and lead • Close to people • Participation of interest groups • Pick-up new ideas and monitor implementation • Adaptable, flexible, willing to experiment and innovate • Used to learning from others’ experiences • Local government pioneers get recognition

4. ICLEI • Membership association of local governments • Mission:To build and serve a world-wide movement of local governments to achieve tangible improvements in global environmental and sustainable development conditions through cumulative local actions • Three international campaigns: • Local agenda 21 • Cities for Climate Protection • Water

5. Melbourne’s Green Purchasing Policy • Value for money over the lifetime of a product • Use less, avoid waste, re-use or repair a product • Choose easy to maintain, durable, recycled & recyclable products • 10% price premium for green products • Supplier environmental accountability

6. Melbourne’s green purchasing practices (1) • A strong focus on recycled products!

7. Melbourne’s green purchasing practices (2) • Other green products purchased • Green electricity (30% of street lighting and 20% of contestable sites), solar and photo-voltaic power, • Energy-saving lights • Energy-efficient, dual-fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vehicles • Green purchasing is not systematically implemented! • Hence Melbourne’s participation in ICLEI’s Green Purchasing Pilot Project

8. Green Purchasing Pilot Project - Overview • Aim • To develop a model system allowing councils to operationalise their green purchasing policies and goals • Scope • Develop prototype tools to assist green purchasing • Foster joint purchasing • Monitor & quantify the environmental benefits of green purchasing • Participants • 10 Australian councils • LCA expert and Maps Groups

9. Green Purchasing Pilot Project - Steps 1. Establish a sound green purchasing policy 2. Audit purchasing processes 3. Determine high priority products for green purchasing 4. Identify environmental criteria to be included in the decision-making process. 5. Develop and apply a system for the implementation of green purchasing 6. Monitor and quantify benefits achieved

10. Green procurement practices in the Pilot Councils

11. Green purchasing benefits as perceived by the Pilot Councils

12. Green purchasing difficulties as perceived by the Pilot Councils

13. Driving forces behind the implementation of green purchasing in the Pilot Councils

14. Green Purchasing Pilot Project - First results (1) • Political and administrative support through sound green purchasing policies and procedures is crucial • Purchasers are willing to implement green purchasing, if its added-value is demonstrated • Simple implementation tools should be developed • Extensive training is required (purchasers, elected representatives, environmental staff, suppliers, end-users)

15. Green Purchasing Pilot Project - First results (2) • Green purchasing requires a product-specific approach • Project identified products with high potential • Electricity, buildings, light & heavy vehicles, street lighting (Very high potential) • Paper & cartridges, Management of green spaces, roads, IT equipment (High potential) • Next steps: development of decision-making tools and quantification of environmental benefits achieved

16. Green Purchasing in Australian councils: the next steps • ICLEI’s activities: by the end of 2003 • Green Purchasing Pilot Project completed • Green Purchasing Program to be launched and aligned with ICLEI’s European Eco-Procurement Campaign • City of Melbourne • Systematise the implementation of green purchasing • Greening the supply chain by having suppliers commit to environmental programs and management system • Introducing “Triple Bottom Line” principles in the management of contracts.