Module 2: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP)

Advancing Your Program

Once your program is in place, consider the following:

Performing a product life-cycle cost analysis. Look beyond the purchase price when making purchasing decisions. Consider the costs of operations and maintenance, worker exposure, and waste disposal. These extended costs are often hidden, and can reveal previously unrecognized savings. Some examples are air-cooling vs. water-cooling, cardboard container vs. Styrofoam or plastic containers.

Contracting for services. Service agreements with written environmental performance standards allow the contractor flexibility to operate under his own environmental management systems. Contract agreements provide a strong leverage point for requiring improved environmental performance. Purchasing professionals have tremendous buying power. Suppliers in a competitive relationship with other suppliers, and suppliers seeking to gain a preferred position, have a motivation to respond to customers’ needs.

Leasing equipment or consumables. Evaluate whether it’s more cost-effective if the supplier “leases” or provides a “service” instead of buying equipment or consumables. Under a leasing system, actual ownership of the product remains with the manufacturer, while the lessee pays for the use and maintenance of the product. The lessee still has full access to the equipment, including any upgraded features, while the manufacturer is responsible for disposal at the end of the product’s useful life. The lessee avoids disposal costs while retaining high-value equipment that delivers more revenue over its useful life.

Buying environmentally preferable office supplies. There are a tremendous number of office products available that are made from recycled content or are manufactured using energy-efficient methods. Buying these products helps conserve natural resources.

Increasing communication among purchasing operations. If you have a fragmented purchasing system (where each department is responsible for purchasing its own materials), develop a more coordinated purchasing system that allows purchasers to apply standard criteria for evaluating and purchasing products. Coordinated purchases can better leverage volume with a supplier and provide better inventory control so products are not “over-purchased,” a situation resulting in many products expiring on the shelf. Once expired, these products will need to be disposed of properly, further increasing costs.

Buying energy. The state of Georgia’s unique electric utility structure allows for “customer choice.” Renewable sources of energy, instead of power from coal or other fossil fuels, can now be purchased, and some utilities offer commercial

Buying or receiving “demo” products. Demo products used for testing purposes become a waste once the tests are complete. Often these waste products need to be disposed of as a hazardous waste. Do not accept hazardous products for trial runs if the manufacturer or manufacturer’s representative will not take back the product or provide you with prepaid disposal options.

Getting to know your suppliers. Here are some questions to ask your suppliers: 1) Are you manufacturing your products in the most environmentally responsible way? 2) Do you have formal energy-conservation programs? 3) Do you have formal water-conservation programs? 4) Do you design your products for ease of recycling or take-back after the product’s useful life? 5) Do you know our special requirements?

Considering products certified by third parties. As discussed earlier, a product designed around a single attribute—such as recycled content, energy efficiency, or bio-based materials—may not make the grade as a green purchase. To do so, an evaluation based on multiple, diverse attributes such as chemical composition, toxicity, and biodegradability needs to occur. Third-party certifiers, such as Green Seal or Scientific Certification Systems verify environmental performance and therefore can make your purchasing decisions easier.

Learning from government programs. Really! Several programs have been implemented to evaluate and identify green products. These provide information resources you don’t have to reinvent. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established a ranking of often-purchased product types that have reduced environmental impact.