The California Sustainability Alliance, a program managed by Navigant Consulting, hopes to help local governments green their procurement plans with the Local Government Green Procurement Toolkit and Guide. The toolkit, which is available online at sustainca.org/tools/green_procurement_toolkit, offers steps for greening procurement policies and includes draft policy legislation, sample green bid specifications, information non eco-labeling programs, and lists of environmentally preferable products and vendors across 23 sustainability criteria. The kit also contains best practices from around the country and eight case studies of local governments in California and Washington.
“Research shows that green products frequently cost no more than other products but product ongoing savings,” says Craig McDonald, managing director with Navigant Consulting’s energy practice.
The kit outlines eight steps to greening an organization’s procurement process: 1. Forming a green purchasing team
2. Conducting a baseline inventory
3. Establishing desired environmental criteria for purchases
4. Developing green bid specifications
5. Taking advantage of opportunities with the state government
6. Modeling green procurement police
7. Educating organization staff and the general public
8. Reviewing policy regularly.
For more information, visit sustainca.org.
