ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING

1. ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING P2 Regional Roundtable EPP Session EUN-SOOK GOIDEL PACIFIC NW POLLUTION PREVENTION RESOURCE CENTER March 17, 2004

2. Part 1: EPP Panel Setting the context Introductions by panel members Panel discussion of challenges & strategies to overcome them Questions for panel members from the audience Wrap up Part 2: EPP Training – Putting the Concepts into Practice Key ingredients for EPP How do you know it’s “green”? EPP Opportunities & Resources Q&A throughout OVERVIEW OF EPP SESSION AM PM

3. INSTITUTIONAL PURCHASERS: A SPECIAL ROLE… “The large scale, systematic approach that most institutions take in their purchasing can have large ripple effects on which products are used by hundreds or even thousands of individuals.” Purchasing Power: Harnessing Institutional Procurement for People and the Planet, Worldwatch Institute, 2003

4. WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL PURCHASING? ….Incorporating keyenvironmental factors with traditional price and performance considerations in purchasing decisions.

5. EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PURCHASING Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Recycled Content Purchasing Reduced Toxics Purchasing Energy Efficiency Purchasing Bio-based Purchasing

6. SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING • Balancing the three “E”s: • Environment • Economics • Equity • Next iteration in the continuous improvement model...

7. EPP PANEL DISCUSSION Panelists: • Jonell Allamano, U.S. EPA-Region 10 • Ron Dalberg, Swedish Medical Center • Eric Nelson, King County • Servando Patlan, WA Office of State Procurement

8. ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING PUTTING EPP CONCEPTS INTO PRACTICE EUN-SOOK GOIDEL PACIFIC NW POLLUTION PREVENTION RESOURCE CENTER March 17, 2004

9. Part 1: EPP Panel Setting the context Introductions by panel members Panel discussion of challenges & strategies to overcome them Questions for panel members from the audience Wrap up Part 2: EPP Training – Putting the Concepts into Practice Key ingredients for EPP How do you know it’s “green”? EPP Opportunities & Resources Q&A throughout OVERVIEW OF EPP SESSION AM AM PM • Part 1: EPP Panel • Setting the context • Introductions by panel members • Panel discussion of challenges & strategies to overcome them • Questions for panel members from the audience • Wrap up

10. Environmental purchasing is 10% technical and 90% behavioral!

11. Responsibility should not fall on the shoulders of “purchasers” only

12. R&D/Designers Manufacturers Retailers Purchasers End Users End-of-life managers Materials Selection Mfg Process Selection Distribution/Packaging Sourcing/Logistics Product Selection/Use Disposal/Recycling CHAIN OF CONSUMPTION PLAYERS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

13. R&D/Designers Manufacturers Retailers Purchasers End Users End-of-life managers ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING Send clear market signals of organization’s preference for environmentally preferable products PLAYERS

14. PART 1: PUTTING THE CONCEPTS INTO PRACTICE

15. EPP: KEY INGREDIENTS(Need not mix sequentially!) • Engage others • Know what you’re buying • Bench-mark your purchasing practices • Prioritize your efforts • Define green for chosen product category • Fit green into procurement to obtain product • Sell EPP to internal and external stakeholders • Nurture a supportive infrastructure

16. * Engage Others * • Tips: • Consider • Who can influence product selection • Who will be affected by product switch • Who might be a good champion • Chosen product category will usually dictate who needs to be involved. For example, different players are involved in product choices for -- • Janitorial • IT Equipment • Examples • Cross functional teams are used by many of the EPP pioneers (e.g., Massachusetts, City of Seattle, Starbucks, Herman Miller)

17. * Know what you are buying * • Secure a purchasing report for the past year • Tips: • Have the report organized by product category or ranked by value of purchase • Which products/services are purchased the most? • Obtain information about existing vendors and type of contract (e.g., long-term vs. short-term) • Are there a few vendors with large $ contracts or many vendors with small $ contracts?

18. * Benchmark * • Without knowing where you are, it is impossible to see any distinct change or to determine the results of an environmental purchasing effort. • Available tools to help you: • North American Green Purchasing Initiative’s ECO-S.A.T. (A Green Purchasing Self Assessment Tool) http://www.cec.org (not yet available on-line) • Green Seal Criteria for Green Procurement http://www.greenseal.org/criteria_procurement.pdf

19. Review Self-Assessment Tools

20. * Prioritize * • Select a product category on which to focus your efforts based on criteria such as: • Total value of purchase • Environmental impact • Availability of alternatives • Tool to help you: • PPRC’s Product Prioritization Tool • Global Environmental Management Initiative’s “Four-Step Search for Value Opportunities related to EHS Performance” http://www.gemi.org/newpath.pdf

21. Review Product Prioritization Tool

22. Environmental Overall Impact Product Stewardship potential Logistics Standards Environmental info. Env alternatives Performance Expertise Flexibility in procurement Political Statutory requirement Management support Industry collaboration potential Economic Dollar value of purchase Price of alternatives Life cycle cost savings Bundling potential PPRC’S PRIORITIZATION TOOL* * Developed for the Department of Ecology and WA Office of State Procurement, 2003 * Tool is being revised for use by a broader audience.

23. PPRC’s Product Category Prioritization Tool – An Example

24. FOUR STEPS TO FIND VALUE OPPORTUNITIES IN PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE Excerpted from: GEMI’s New Paths to Business Value, 2001

25. *Prioritize*(continued) • How others have prioritized: • Focus on products associated with sourcing, transportation and store design based on the Natural Step framework (Starbucks) • Focus on products sold by 23 vendors receiving 70% of hospital’s purchasing funds (Swedish Medical Center) • Formed teams around 16 commodities for which city spends 80% of its dollars (City of Seattle) • Rank based on three criteria: waste reduction potential, toxicity reduction in the waste stream, and availability of alternatives (State of Minnesota)

26. * Define Green* • For the selected product categories, decide what product attributes will differentiate a “greener” product • Tips • Rely on existing resources and replicate! • Federal, state and local EPP program resources • Third Party standards and certifications • You CAN develop unique standard to fit your needs (+/- to this) • Remember to apply life cycle thinking in “defining” green

27. * “Fit” Green into Procurement * • Criteria for green must be integrated into procurement process to ensure that the “greener” product is obtained! • Tip • Integrate environmental considerations into the SOP of procurement department. For example, • Market surveys that include environmental questions • Solicitations and evaluation processes that reward environmentally superior products and processes • It helps to give clear signals to existing and new vendors of organization’s environmental commitment

28. * “Sell” to Stakeholders * • Internal Stakeholders • Procurement staff • End Users • Budget/Finance staff • External Stakeholders • Vendors • Customers What Approaches Work Best? Voluntary Or Mandatory?

29. Tips for internal stakeholders Incentives for purchasers (Massachusetts Buy Recycled/EPP Award) EPP as a part of job performance (State of Washington) Pilot/demonstration projects Tips for external stakeholders Pre-bid meetings with vendors (most EPP pioneers) Incentives, e.g., through price premiums (Department of Defense construction contract) *“Sell” to Stakeholders *(continued)

30. “NURTURE” A SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE • Tips • Provide high level support • Set clear goals and priorities • Ensure responsibility is shared across professional disciplines • Provide training and education • Create “safe harbor” for innovative EPP approaches

31. INSTITUTIONALIZING EPP THEORY/CONCEPT PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE INDIVIDUAL TRANSLATION & ADOPTION

32. QUESTIONS?

33. END OF PART 1

34. PART 2: HOW DO YOU KNOW IT’S “GREEN”?

35. EPP = Environment + Price + Performance • pollution prevention • Multiple attributes • life cycle ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURHCASING

36. HOW DO YOU DETERMINE IT’S “GREEN”? • “ Green” based on: • Organization-unique standards • Vendor claims about its products or practices • Government standards or guides (e.g., Energy Star) • Third Party standards (e.g., Green Seal, CFPA, Canada’s Environmental Choice) • How these are manifested: • Approved supplier lists (Starbucks) • Chemical bans (Herman Miller, Volvo) • Approved product lists (Aberdeen Proving Ground) • Solicitations that reflect existing or organization-specific standards

37. VENDOR CLAIMS • All environmental claims made about a product or a service must comply with the Federal Trade Commission Guides for Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (“ FTC Green Guides”) • FTC Guides can be accessed at: www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm

38. Environmental Products VENDOR CLAIMS (continued) • FTC guides establish four general principles for environmental marketing: • clear and prominent disclosure to prevent deception. • presented in a way that makes clear whether the environmental attribute or benefit refers to the product, the packaging, or both. • Avoid overstating environmental attributes and claims. • Present comparative statements in a manner that makes the basis for the comparison sufficiently clear to avoid consumer deception.

39. VENDOR CLAIMS (continued) • FTC also provides guidance on the appropriate use of the following categories of claims: • Claims of general environmental benefits. • Claims that the product is “degradable,” “compostable,” or “recyclable.” • Claims of “recycled content,” “source reduction,” “refillable,” or “ozone safe/ozone friendly.”

40. GOVERNMENT STANDARDS OR GUIDES • Federal standards exist for: • Recycled content (EPA) • Energy and water efficiency (DOE and EPA) • Bio-based (currently being developed by USDA) • States and local governments have developed standards • Often follow federal standards for RC, EE, WE • Some go beyond federal standards • One-stop shopping: EPA’s EPP Database http://yosemite1.epa.gov/oppt/eppstand2.nsf

41. FEDERAL GREEN PROCUREMENT PROGRAMS Green Procurement Program Target Attribute(s) Comprehensive Procurement Guideline Recycled content Energy Star Energy efficiency Agricultural or forestry materials content Biobased Program EPP Program Depends on product/service -- examples include: All of the above plus Less/Non toxic Resource conserving Recyclable Durable/upgradable Reduced packaging Reduced effect on human health and eco-systems

42. THIRD PARTY PROGRAMS • Develop standards (e.g., ASTM) • Verify and/or validate claims (e.g., Scientific Certification Systems) • Certify vis-à-vis an existing standard (e.g., Underwriter’s Lab) • Certify other third party programs (e.g., Forest Stewardship Council) • Develop standards and award labels based on these standards (e.g., Green Seal)

43. Pros They’ve done the homework of determining what constitutes green (= resource savings for organizations) Some programs utilize LCA and/or LC perspective in standards development Cons Some worry that the cost of certification might be passed onto the purchasers by vendors Can be difficult to sort out which third party standards are “good” and which ones are not THIRD PARTY PROGRAMS

44. EVALUATING THIRD PARTY PROGRAMS • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified the following list of questions to evaluate third party organizations. Does the program have: • An open, public process that involves key stakeholders? • A transparent process (i.e., process and resulting criteria are publicly available, easily accessed and understandable to the lay person)? • A system of data verification and data quality? • A peer review process (with representation of all stakeholders) for developing the standards or criteria? • Criteria which are developed based on a "systems" or life cycle approach (i.e., "cradle to grave")?

45. EVALUATING THIRD PARTY PROGRAMS (continued) Does the third party program have: • An outreach program to educate the consumer? • An established goal of updating standards or criteria? • Authority to inspect the facility whose product is certified to ensure compliance with the standards or criteria? • Testing protocols for the products that are certified which ensure testing is conducted by a credible institution? • Access to obtaining the seal by small and medium sized companies (e.g., the cost of the seal is not so high as to prevent access by companies)? and • Compliance with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims?

46. PART 3: YOU’RE NOT WITHOUT HELP! OPPORTUNITIES AND TOOLS

47. IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITIES • Copier Paper • Electronics • Cleaning products • Buildings • Conferences/Meetings

48. WHY COPIER PAPER? • Resource intensive • About 42% of the wood harvested for industrial use goes to making paper. • In the U.S., the pulp and paper industry is the second largest consumer of energy and uses more water to produce a ton of product than any other industry.

49. WHY COPIER PAPER? • High volume of use • An average office worker uses about 10,000 sheets of copier paper per year! • In 1997, the Federal government purchased roughly 18.1 billion sheets of copier paper. • High, Hidden Cost • Office paper is the fastest growing use of paper. The cost of printing, copying, mailing, storing and disposing can exceed the initial price by as much as 10 times!

50. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Seek to increase paper “efficiency” • Duplex copying & printing • Many other strategies! • Buy “greener” • high quality, competitively priced options exist • Go for high post consumer, chlorine-free papers! • Ensure fully functioning paper recycling program • Close the “loop”