Educational Procurement Journal - September 2007 - (Page 12) Cradle-to-Cradle Sustainable Procurement Using Life Cycle Assessment by Linda Collins University of California San Diego loth vs. disposable? Paper vs. Styrofoam™? Automated dispensers vs. manual dispensers? These are questions facing sustainable Procurement departments worldwide. With consumption patterns across the globe increasing and adding to the Earth’s workload of sustaining humanity, more and more institutions are buying green. Many colleges and universities have already adopted policies regarding green building and climate change. It would seem appropriate for Purchasing organizations to follow suit and adopt Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) policies. EPP is a strategy that seeks to procure products and services with reduced or minimal environmental impact. Due to the consumption of resources in the United States alone (25 percent of the world’s resources with only 5 percent of the world’s population), the U.S. federal government has issued an executive order requiring all federal Procurement officials to assess and give preference to products and services that are environmentally preferable. As the largest single consumer of goods and services in the U.S., the federal government realizes its influence on what products and services are produced. EPP works to leverage this power and affect positive environmental change. For Procurement processes to add to the effectiveness of an organization’s sustainability goals, sustainability must be placed alongside other value-for-money considerations such as price, quality and after-sales services. Simple sustainability needs to be incorporated into day-to-day procurement processes. To achieve this end, an EPP policy should be developed. At an organizational level, real long-term gains can only be made if policies that support the principles of sustainability are implemented. To create a valid policy, consider these key points: • Gather support; • Analyze Purchasing practices; • Target a few products initially; and • Work with suppliers. Sustainable product standards are already gaining market share. The international standards that have been developed include transparent, life cycle and consensus base metrics, and are allowing this new economy to come into being. The requirement for suppliers to produce sustainable products should be incorporated into contracts, with the Procurement policy clearly outlined in the contract language. Written guidance may help. Organizations should call for suppliers to initiate best practices within their own enterprises as well as embedding them in the products they supply. C 12 EDUCATIONAL PROCUREMENT JOURNAL September 2007
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