Green purchasing by companies is up in a down economy. Our recent October 2009 survey of more than 450 companies found that over the past 12 months there was a 63 percent increase in green purchasing, from computers to chemicals to cleaning supplies. Perhaps even more encouraging, none of the respondents from large companies (those with revenues over $1 billion) identified any decrease in buying green.

UL Environment plans to develop sustainability standards for stone, ceramic, clay and glass building materials, as well as glazing materials, windows and their associated hardware and accessories.

Maker of Rayon Clothes Barred from Deceptive “Bamboo” Claims
Source: Federal Trade Commission

Just because bamboo is green does not mean that companies who purport to make clothing and other textiles from processed bamboo can make unsupported “green” claims. The Federal Trade Commission today announced a settlement with a company that allegedly falsely claimed its rayon products are made of bamboo fiber, retain bamboo’s antimicrobial properties, and are biodegradable.

Under the settlement, the company has agreed that it will not make any future bamboo claims unless they are true and backed by reliable evidence, and that it will no longer claim that the clothing and bath products it sells are made of bamboo fiber – when they actually are made of rayon processed from bamboo plants.

+ In the Matter of The M Group, Inc., also doing business as Bamboosa…
+ Have You Been Bamboozled by Bamboo Fabrics?
+ How to Avoid Bamboozling Your Customers

Consumer product companies need chemical information from their supply chains for many reasons, including the design of products that are safe for human health and the environment, regulatory compliance, participation in green certification programs, disclosure of chemical ingredients in products to retailers and customers, and preparation of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Companies with large, complex, global supply chains face many challenges in getting this information.

The Green Chemistry in Commerce Council (GC3), a project of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, commissioned three case studies of leading firms with complex supply chains to explore and share experiences on how companies gather chemical information from their supply chains and how they use this information to develop safer products. The three companies are Nike, S.C. Johnson (SCJ) and Hewlett-Packard (HP). The case studies conducted for this project examined a number of questions:

1. Why is the company seeking chemical information from their supply chain?
2. What types of chemical information is the company seeking?
3. How is the company gathering chemical information from its supply chain? What system is it using?
4. What systems are companies using to manage chemicals in products?
5. What systems are companies using to create safer products using chemical information?
6. What challenges have existed and what has worked well to gather chemical information, manage chemicals and design safer products?

All three firms studied are sizable, consumer product companies with large and complex supply chains. They are diverse with regard to the types of products that they manufacture and the types of raw materials that they procure from their supply chain. The reader should keep this in mind when reading the cases and lessons reported in this document.

Information gathered for the cases came from interviews with personnel at each firm, internal documents provided by the firms, and publicly available information. The companies were given the opportunity to review and comment on case study drafts. This summary report is designed to synthesize the lessons learned and best practices that were distilled from the case studies.

Reducing the amount of waste entering the waste stream is a central goal in the development of environmentally preferable purchasing. Purchase and production of recycled materials can have a huge impact. For example, paper and organic waste (food and yard clippings), both recyclable, account for an amazing 80 percent of the material sent to landfills.

A new website now offers an empowering message and helpful resources for paper purchasers who want to make more earth-friendly consumer choices. Environmental Paper Network (EPN), a coalition of over 100 conservation groups, has unveiled WhatsInYourPaper.com, a comprehensive new online resource to guide and assist paper purchasers and companies to successfully switch to using environmentally superior paper.

Resolving to save money? And the planet? Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs promise a win-win: according to the industry and U.S. government’s Energy Star program, which promotes CFL bulbs and other substitutes for energy-hogging incandescents, a CFL uses 75 percent less energy than its incandescent counterpart, lasts up to 10 times longer and prevents more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.

Over its lifetime, a single CFL can save the consumer $80 or more, depending on local electric rates.

But all CFL bulbs aren’t equal. Some have lower mercury content than others, and some last much longer. Unfortunately, you can’t tell the best of the best by their labels – or the U.S. government Energy Star logo. Some Energy Star labelled bulbs could not be legally sold in Europe due to excessive mercury content.

An Environmental Working Group investigation has identified 7 bulb lines made by Earthmate, Litetronics, Sylvania, Feit, MaxLite and Philips that trump the rest. These bulbs, listed in our Green Lighting Guide contain a fraction of the toxic mercury allowed by Energy Star, reducing the mercury contamination from a broken bulb. All last 8-15,000 hours, dramatically longer than the Energy Star standard of 6,000 hours, and also offer high efficiency.

Talking to consumers about buying less stuff just might be the third rail of green marketing. Reducing or limiting consumption is antithetical to marketing, or at least it has been so far. Practically no one seems to want to go there. I’ll accept my portion of responsibility. In the late 1980s, when I penned The Green Consumer, I helped advance the notion of solving our planet’s environmental ills by making good purchasing choices — that we could, in other words, shop our way to environmental health. “By choosing carefully, you can have a positive impact on the environment without significantly compromising your way of life,” I wrote. “That’s what being a green consumer is all about.”

From the way products are packaged to the means by which they’re shipped, waste abounds in the supply chain. That’s the case made by Paul Brody and Mondher Ben-Hamida, supply chain experts for IBM’s Global Business Services. In a recent article that warrants reading on Environmental Leader, the duo have outlined steps toward cutting supply-chain waste.

To create a green supply chain companies can optimize the physical supply chain, lower energy usage in the manufacturing conversion process and improving product design and packaging to minimize waste.

Online superstore Amazon adds an Amazon Green section, which lists products customers have selected as most environmentally-friendly, from cleaning supplies to computers to personal solar chargers.

Be Green Packaging, LLC (Be Green) is pleased to announce that their line of bulrush packaging has been awarded and certified “Silver” Cradle to Cradle by MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC). MBDC is a leading environmental consulting firm focused on helping companies implement new approaches to sustainability and prosperity. Be Green Packaging’s certification comes after a ten-month study of its bulrush fiber and sustainable design. Be Green’s bulrush packaging has successfully met the certification criteria for: Materials, Material Reutilization/Design for Environment, Energy, Water and Social Responsibility.

Advertisers are seeing green in hyping green, and the federal government is helping confused consumers by cracking down on false environmental claims.

In the spirit of the “green” craze that has seen individuals and institutions work toward more environmentally-friendly practices, the Detroit Zoo has voluntary ditched plastic utensils.

Service Systems Associates (SSA), which runs the zoo’s concession and retail services, now uses biodegradable cutlery rather than plasticware.

“WaterSense is a common sense ethic of efficiency for protecting water, America’s most important liquid asset. WaterSense certified homes will help homeowners save water, money and energy, and communities will have an important new tool for sustainable growth and water efficiency,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

The specification is designed to ensure sustainable, efficient water use, as well as a high level of performance and customer satisfaction. WaterSense labeled new homes will combine with other water efficient fixtures and practices to reduce water usage by approximately 20 percent.

Homes earning the WaterSense label must meet criteria for indoor water use, outdoor water use, and homeowner education. Third party inspectors will certify that homes meet all the required criteria.

EPA is inviting public comment on the draft specification. The comment period will end July 21, 2008. Please send any comments or suggestions to watersense-newhomes@erg.com

For more information or to obtain a copy of the draft specification for water efficient single-family new homes, go to http://www.epa.gov/watersense/specs/homes.htm

To spare the world’s rainforests, we must reduce the imports of tropical woods. According to the Rainforest Relief Organization, we need to reduce tropical wood imports by 90% with the remaining 10% coming only from non-old growth logging which has been independently certified as well managed. Particularly instrumental in this effort is the wood accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization that sets standards for responsible forest management.

OfficeMax(R) Incorporated (NYSE: OMX), a leader in office products and services, today announced that customers can now choose 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper when making self-serve copies at their local OfficeMax ImPress(R), OfficeMax’s in-store print and document services.

A new green standard modeled on the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program is underway for the furnishings market. Designed to be an American National Standards Institute standard, the BIFMA E3-2008 Business and Institutional Furniture Sustainability Standard is conceived by the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) International and NSF International (NSF). The two organizations are now seeking consensus vote and public comment on the standard.

All along the supply chain, costs are skyrocketing and competition is intensifying. The focus on sustainability-focused supply chain strategies allows companies to combine a muscular set of strategic and tactical actions and processes aimed at optimizing overall business, environmental, and social performance. In fact, a green-optimized supply chain has become a focus of corporate innovation and social responsibility that has powerfully impacted efficiency, profitability, and the very nature of global relationships, all along the value chain. In a recent report, Building a Green Supply Chain: Social Responsibility for Fun and Profit, AberdeenGroup benchmarked the green supply chain initiatives of over 350 firms, world-wide.

Depending on where you live, shopping for eco-friendly items may be difficult. Residents in larger cities may find it’s too time consuming or tricky to track down special farmer’s markets, and those living in small towns don’t always have the same access to chic, environmentally friendly fashions that cities like San Francisco or New York offer. Internet shopping has been a popular way to find gifts and necessities for a while, and finding eco-friendly items online is getting even easier. Below is our list of 100 sites to find everything from organic baby food to rechargeable batteries to hybrid cars to organic vodka.

IBM, GlaxoSmithKline and Herman Miller have found a positive return-on-investment for environmentally friendly purchasing, purchasing.com reports.

At the recent Supplier Management conference hosted by eyeforprocurement, sustainability and green purchasing was a hot topic with executives. This article looks at green procurement initiatives and the results that make a “clean” difference.

Americans misunderstand key phrases commonly used in environmental marketing and advertising, giving products a greater environmental halo than they deserve and creating a growing risk of backlash. At the same time, with days until a U.S. Federal Trade Commission public hearing on the subject, a majority of Americans support government regulation of such messages.

Companies are rushing to create green supply chains, basing purchasing decisions not only on the value that vendors deliver, but also on their compliance with green initiatives and other key corporate values.

Just as vendors have been required to be compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations, they will soon need to achieve a certain level of compliance with environmental initiatives and other social responsibility imperatives, according to Jari Tavi, chief technology officer at Basware.

Sustainable management and greener purchasing are becoming critical aspects for hospitals and clinics wanting to present the best face to the community on patient care. For FMs at healthcare facilities, managing green buildings includes meeting the needs of varied users 24/7 — patients, physicians, staff, visitors and community. Protocols leading to safe and healing surroundings are gaining traction.

Nissan will issue new green procurement guidelines, a set of environmental protocol to augment The Nissan-Renault Purchasing Way, in April, Auto Spectator reports. The guidelines replace the previous green procurement standards issued in 2001 and will apply to all its global auto-parts and materials suppliers.

Last week the University of Maryland’s Center for Excellence in Service and Technology research firm Rockbridge Associates released the results of a survey showing that Americans are willing to spend as much as $104 billion in 2008 for environmentally friendly consumer products and technologies. But finding the products to satiate surging demand might be the hard part.

The webcast will be held on April 17, 2008, 2:00 ­ 3:30 PM (Eastern Time)

To register for the webcast, send an e-mail to CleanEnergyWebcast@icfi.com. You will receive a confirmation email with registration information within 24 hours.

Priority for registration will be given to local and regional government staff and officials. If multiple staff from your agency wish to participate, we ask that you share a computer and phone line, as space is limited. EPA plans to record and post these webcasts on its Clean Energy website. For additional information, to access the background paper, or to view past webcasts, visit http://epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-programs/state-and-local/webcast.html.

EPA’s Energy Star Program also offers related web trainings on product procurement. This training includes information about EPA support to help your organization purchase products with superior energy performance; guidelines that define energy performance for numerous products; sample procurement language for stipulating energy performance attributes to vendors; lists of ENERGY STAR labeled products; and energy savings software that calculates the annual and life cycle costs of ENERGY STAR products and their less efficient counterparts. Upcoming trainings are scheduled for April 24, May 22, and June 26 from 2 to 3 pm (EST). To access these trainings visit
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=business.bus_internet_presentations, click on the link for “live web conferences” and follow the registration instructions on that site.

Cornell University has joined Tompkins County, the City of Ithaca and five other educational institutions and governmental agencies to form the Finger Lakes Environmentally Preferred Procurement Consortium, New York’s first “green” consortium to purchase environmentally preferable products.  The other four members of the consortium are Ithaca College, Tompkins Cortland Community College, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

On February 20, 2008 EPA will host a two-day roundtable to kick-off the development process for the new environmental standards. The forum will bring together representatives from manufacturers, suppliers, public and private sector purchasers, public interest groups and experts in electronics design to define the scope of the products to be covered, look at other standards and labels, and begin to develop potential environmental performance criteria for the new standards.

“EPEAT is a trusted resource for buyers looking for greener computers, because it was developed by all the stakeholders,” said David Jones, Associate Director of the Waste Division in EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “The success of EPEAT has led to significant environmental benefits. EPA is committed to supporting stakeholder efforts to now reduce the impact of printers and copiers as well.”

EPEAT – the electronic product environmental assessment tool – was launched in 2006, focusing on desktop and laptop computers and monitors. It includes a set of environmental criteria and a system for registering and verifying equipment that meets those criteria. EPEAT-registered computers have reduced levels of toxics, are more energy efficient, are easier to upgrade and recycle, and use more sustainable packaging than conventional equipment. EPA supported the development of EPEAT, but it is now a largely self-sustaining system operated by the Green Electronics Council.

Purchasers have embraced EPEAT enthusiastically. Nearly all electronic equipment purchases by the U.S. government must be EPEAT-registered. In addition, more than six states and dozens of local governments and colleges and universities have adopted EPEAT in their procurement for computers. Major private companies are using the tool as well. That success has driven demand by purchasers for additional products to be added to EPEAT.

The February 20^th workshop will begin a 12-18 month process to craft the criteria for imaging devices. EPA will not develop the new standard itself, but is providing funding and staff support to bring stakeholders together to do so. The standard will be finalized the IEEE Standards Association.

For information on the EPEAT standard and the searchable database listing all EPEAT-registered computer products, visit http://www.epeat.net. Additional information on the Green Electronics Council is available at http://www.greenelectronicscouncil.org.

Proposals are due March 10, 2008. To apply, download an application form in one of the formats below:

Word document
Rich Text Format
PDF

To apply, download an application form in one of the formats below:

• Word document
• Rich Text Format
• PDF

Return the completed application via postal mail or email to:

Mail:
Attn: RPN Purchasing Assistance
Responsible Purchasing Network
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 900
Takoma Park, MD 20912

Email:
rpn@newdream.org with subject “RPN Purchasing Assistance Application”

Scheduled for Navy Pier in Chicago, the Exposition will feature more than 200+ booths from companies that offer environmentally preferred products (EPP) to a target audience of Federal, State, County and Municipal officials, as well as, businesses and industries, schools, hospitals, museums, universities, recyclers, waste management and the hospitality industry.  Show organizers are expecting more than 1,000 attendees to meet with suppliers, speakers and consultants of eco-friendly, sustainable products and services.  There will be 12 hours of exhibit time over the two days, with more than 9 hours of dedicated time for attendees to interact with suppliers.

The event will also feature a 2-day educational track of 8+ hours, offering best practices, cooperative buying strategies, energy management and industry trends.  Three tracks targeted to government, private industry and facility managers specific interests and professional practices will run concurrently.

According to Greg O’Connor, a principal of The Green Exposition, Chicago is the right place at the right time, “We were looking for a city that was committed to the environment and Chicago has dedicated itself to be one of the “greenest” cities in America.  With the backing of the city, its Mayor and a number of procurement, purchasing and facilities associations, including the local chapter of NAPM, we feel that this show will become an annual event that enhances the long list of successful trade shows that make their home in Chicago.”

O’Connor went on to say, “The conference provides school officials the opportunity to find the array of products necessary to meet the requirements set by the Green Cleaning in Schools Act. The Green Expo provides the perfect forum for learning about and procuring new supplies.  We hope this show will bring sensible and responsible resources to those who can have a dramatic impact on what products and services are used in our public and private facilities, including our schools.”

For additional information or registration, go to www.thegreenexposition.com.

The U.S. government plans to require federal agencies to buy PCs and computer monitors that are energy efficient and include reduced levels of toxic chemicals — a requirement that likely will affect corporate users as well because of the government’s massive buying power.

The Department of Defense, NASA and the General Services Administration jointly detailed an interim rule on the new purchasing requirements in a notice published in the Federal Register on Dec. 26, and they are accepting comments on the proposal through Feb. 25. The new rule formalizes the use within the government of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, which some agencies and private-sector companies have already adopted.

Mark your calendar for June 4 & 5 in Chicago, IL, at the world famous Navy Pier, for a gathering of the best and brightest in procurement, purchasing, supply, and environmentally preferred products (EPP). Suppliers and Vendors from throughout the country will be gathered to display the latest in green products and services available to business and government.

Our Green Trade Show Conference will feature a 2-day educational track with rich green educational content sessions to enhance professional practices, facilitate cooperative buying, and highlight energy management and industry trends.

Consorta, a leading healthcare group purchasing and resource management organization announced today that it will launch EverGreen magazine, the first and only healthcare industry magazine focused on green procurement and sustainable environmental practices. The bi-monthly magazine has a qualified subscriber base of more than 50,000 healthcare executives and supply chain management decision makers, making it the third largest publication in the healthcare field. Its Web site is www.evergreen-magazine.com.

The bottled water industry is booming and people everywhere can be spotted toting water bottles, but it’s also become a target for environmentalists and government agencies.

The site is intended to provide sustainable methods and tools that promote and enhance Supply Chain Environmental Management and Innovation to manufacturers and their suppliers.

Focus areas of interest include: Eco-Efficiency, Lean and Clean Production, Product Design, Innovation, Life Cycle Analysis, Renewable Energy Use, Logistics, and Chemical Substitution.

• Antifreeze – Recycled & Extended-Life
• Asphalt Release Agent – Soy-Based
• Crumb Rubber – Sports Fields
• Electricity Generation, On-Site – Wind
• Electricity Generation, On-Site – Biogas
• Inks, Print Shop – Vegetable-Based
• Lighting – Sports Fields
• Motor Oil – Rerefined
• Paint – Recycled Latex
• Parking Meters – Solar Powered
• Tires – Retreaded
• UV Filters – Pool Sanitation

A new guide from the BC-based Sustainability Purchasing Network – available at www.buysmartbc.com – shows organizations why it makes sense to consider the impact of their purchasing decisions all the way down the line. A sound supply chain, from social, environmental and ethical perspectives, makes for a better world. It also links nicely to the financial bottom line.

This brief guide is designed to help Federal offices meet some of the challenges of green purchasing, by identifying a series of existing tools and resources which they can use to (1) help develop quantitative estimates of the projected benefits of making new EPP choices and (2) document the estimated benefits of past EPP actions. The tools and other resources summarized here are the most useful ones we found which are currently available. They tend to focus on environmental benefits, although some address other areas such as cost savings. Some of the resources are calculators, where users can enter set inputs and obtain outputs estimating impacts in their situation. Other resources are guides, collections of policies, lists of products, data collection and tracking instruments, etc.

The document is organized around EPA’s “Greening” Goals areas. For each Goal, EPA’s Objectives are listed and types of benefits from meeting the Goal are noted. Next, for each area you will find a chart that identifies the tools, their source (e.g., web site), inputs, outputs, possible uses, and other information. At the end of the document is a list of acronyms and a few useful conversion factors.

Wal-Mart Stores says it plans to begin implementing its “Preferred Chemical Principles” to establish a clear set of preferred chemical characteristics for product ingredients.

The purpose is to drive the development of more sustainable products for “mother, child, and the environment,” according to the company. The first three of these priority chemicals are being announced at the Molecule-to-Molecule meeting, a two-day event hosted by the Chemical Intensive Product Network (CIP), a group designed to engage suppliers, NGO’s, government, academics and other subject matter experts on issues and opportunities around product sustainability.

• The Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers
• BEES 4.0
• Sustainable Buildings Standards
• US Green Building Council 2006 Federal Summit
• Green cleaning tool and standards
• Green electronics purchasing tool
• EPP Guides

The U.S. Agriculture Department has announced two proposed rules under the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program, designating 20 items that must receive special consideration by all federal agencies when making purchases.

“Check GreenerChoices.org for details on electronics, appliances, home and garden products, autos and food. Find out how to incorporate environmental and health issues into product purchases, uses, recycling and disposal.” “Eco-labels.org, (is) another Consumer Reports site.”