BUY GREENER, BE GREENER
Colleges, Universities and Green Purchasing
Adam J. Smargon, Doctoral Candidate
University of Delaware
Marriott Inn and Conference Center
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
16-17 April 2012
Center for Energy and Environmental Policy
The History of Green Purchasing
During World War II, U.S.
citizens were asked to:
• ration paper and metal
• grow food
• join car-sharing clubs
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The History of Green Purchasing
Resource conservation
was the order of the day.
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Global Trends
• Global consumption spending has increased six-fold
since 1950
• Every item we buy has hidden impacts on the natural
environment or on human welfare
• Items we buy require huge inputs of water, wood,
energy, metals, and other resources
• The wealthiest one-fifth of the world’s population owns
87 percent of all cars
• One-fifth of humanity lives on less than a dollar a day
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So What Can We Do About This?
• We can be intelligent about the raw materials
needed to make things
• We can re-work the manufacturing processes to
use less energy
• We can vote with our dollars to state what things
we want and don’t want
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Why Green Purchasing?
Motivation: how environmental issues relate to people
Administration: increasing efficiency
• Reducing operational expenses
• Reducing demand for natural resources
• Lessening environmental impact
• Leads to making money and/or saving money
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Why Green Purchasing?
The government needs to lead on this issue
Japan and Denmark
cities and counties in the United States
...but the potential for green purchasing still remains untapped
public procurement is a tool in achieving public policy goals
...why not environmental concerns?
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Why Green Purchasing?
• “Completing the loop”
• US EPA: multiple environmental attributes
– recycled content
– energy efficiency
– low VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
– reconditioned or remanufactured parts
– bio-based materials
– water use efficiency
– product disassembly potential
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The Theory of Green Purchasing
• Can achieve environmental policy goals
while staying within budget constraints
• Large scale users should be discriminating
• Can redefine "purchasing power“
• Vendor policies can be changed for the better
• Natural resources can be available longer
• Good publicity for the supplier
• “the responsible corporate neighbor”
• Positive press can lead to increased sales
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The Theory of Green Purchasing
• Contracts are negotiated and awarded by the
purchasing departments of governments, schools,
corporations, and other large organizations
– screening the environmental impact of incoming
commodities
– screening for the possibilities of outgoing waste
• Environmentally-Sensitive Contract
– competitive bidding process
– Kevin Lyons, Rutgers University (all three campuses)
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The Power of Procurement
• the world’s institutions are significant consumers
• institutions are important in building more
sustainable markets
• diverting even a small portion of institutional
spending to more environmentally sound products
and services can send a powerful message to the
marketplace
• governments: as much as 25% of GDP
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The Power of Procurement
• businesses buy finished products, raw
materials, and packaging
–lengthy supply chains that span the globe
• aggregate spending along supply chains far
outweigh the consumption of finished products
• universities: $250 billion in 2010
–equivalent to nearly 3% of U.S. GDP
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The Four Competitive Dimensions of Value
Quality
Dependability
Flexibility
Cost
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My Experience in Green Purchasing
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Troy, New York
RPI’s Green Purchasing Coordinator
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experimental internship
no formal authority
no access to secured/proprietary data
all I had were my own gentle powers of persuasion
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Recycled Paper
When I started, only 3% of RPI bought recycled paper
Paper is the most visible green product in offices
any change in 3% would be a marked improvement
increase knowledge about prices and availability on campus
increase recycled paper use on campus as much as possible:
educate the campus about the prices, availability, and quality
The quality of recycled paper has improved over time…
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Recycled Paper
Executive Order 12873
Federal Acquisition, Recycling, and Waste Prevention
signed in October 1993 by President Clinton
The American federal government must buy and use recycledcontent paper
helped to establish and boost the recycled paper industry in
the U.S. and around the world
there are now more paper purchasing options in existence
RPI gets to buy better recycled paper at cheaper prices
RPI gets to buy many different kinds of energy-efficient goods
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The Recycled Paper Ultimatum
“I want all of our future paper purchases changed
permanently from virgin stock to recycled stock,
and I want it at the same price as virgin stock…
or I'm changing vendors.”
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Recycled Paper
•
It’s easy in theory, but it was challenging in practice at RPI
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I could not break contracts and change vendors
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Different methods of on-campus delivery of boxes of paper
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Should you buy paper elsewhere to sidestep the contract?
NO!
– Volume is diluted
– Campus traffic is increased
– Negotiation strength is weakened
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Recycled Paper
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There is probably an
established relationship
between your organization
and the paper provider
All systems are firmly in
place and are well-oiled
machines
I could not change paper
providers
I was lucky that RPI’s provider
did offer recycled-content
paper: Great White
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Supply and Demand
To increase demand, I contacted every department on
campus; over one hundred financial managers have
decentralized purchasing ability
I gave them choices:
– virgin and recycled
– white and colored
– letter size and legal size
…with all the prices for every kind of paper.
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Supply and Demand
some were concerned about the extra cost per box
some were concerned about the quality of the paper
Reassurance: “18 departments on campus have already made
the change from virgin paper to recycled paper…”
Testimony: “A local city school district ran over two million
pages on Great White with no problems at all…”
I increased recycled paper use on campus from 3% to 38%...
in only four months.
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Energy Star
EPA created Energy Star for “superior energy efficiency”
“If you can reduce the amount of energy your product uses by
at least half… then we will slap an Energy Star logo on
your product.”
motivator for the manufacturers
customers will see it when they shop
energy efficiency is one more
criterion for American consumers
to consider when buying products
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Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs)
75% less energy than incandescent bulbs
can last six to ten times longer
incandescent bulbs operate at 350º F
CFLs operate at 90º F
I retrofitted my entire apartment with CFLs
I save on my utility bill, month after month
payback system: you pay more than normal up front,
but long-term savings over time… it pays for itself in a few months
the prices of CFLs have come down over time… save more if you buy in bulk
4-pack of 14-watt Sylvania CFLs are $6.97 at Home Depot: only $1.74 per bulb!
You can recycle up to six CFLs per visit at IKEA, Ace Hardware, Home Depot,
and True Value Hardware
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What to Buy?
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Paint: low/no VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
Paper: high percentage of post-consumer recycled content
Compact fluorescent light bulbs
Appliances with the Energy Star label
Produce: organic, local, and in-season
Fair Trade products
Tea, chocolate, bananas, sugar, rice, olive oil,
coffee, flowers, wine, vanilla, and spices
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Meaningful Environmental Claims
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What type of environmental claim is being made?
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Is a copy of the standard/protocol available for review?
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Preferred: open, public, transparent processes (examples: ANSI, ASTM, ISO)
Who developed the standard/protocol?
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Does it refer to appropriate national/international standards?
How was the standard/protocol developed?
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single environmental attribute vs. multiple attributes
Preferred: consensus-based process by broad stakeholder groups
What process is used to verify that the product meets the standard?
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Self-certification
Self-certification with Random Audits
Independent Third-Party Certification
Independent Third-Party Certification with On-Site Audits
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Driving Less… and Driving Better
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Best: walk, use public transit, and/or use a bicycle
Better: purchase an electric car or a hybrid
Good: look for a car with excellent gas mileage
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keep it tuned up: change spark plugs, air filters
appropriate levels of oil, antifreeze, washer fluid, other fluids
check the alignment and brakes / check your tire pressure
check your filters and systems
avoid fuel with alcohol in it
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Paper or Plastic?
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Paper or Plastic?
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Paper or Plastic?
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Paper or Plastic?
Center for Energy and Environmental Policy
Paper or Plastic?
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Furnishings
Furniture
Carpeting and interior decorations
Chairs, desks, and other office equipment
Draperies: organically grown cotton!
Recycled Carpeting
Example: Collins & Aikman
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Less Toxic Alternatives to Common Products
Ever read the back of cleaning bottles?
borax instead of bleach
vinegar instead of Windex
club soda instead of a Shout wipe…
baking soda has dozens of uses!
for more information, search the ‘Net for
“alternatives to toxic household products”
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BUY GREENER, BE GREENER
Colleges, Universities and Green Purchasing
QUESTIONS AND
COMMENTS
Adam J. Smargon
302 561 4585
smargon@udel.edu
Center for Energy and Environmental Policy