What is green procurement?
Green procurement is the selection of products and services that minimise environmental impacts; it's about using your purchasing power to promote productive use of resources and materials. This involves integrating environmental considerations into all stages of the purchasing process: from avoiding unnecessary purchases and identifying greener products, to the specifications you use for contracts and whole life costing.
Green procurement is no longer limited to recycled paper but covers most areas of business activity including construction, furniture, IT equipment and transport. There is lots of supplier choice; in 2007 members of the Green Procurement Code purchased from 500 different suppliers.
By making informed choices about the products we buy, we can make a real difference to the environment and improve London's resource efficiency.
What makes a product green?
Green products are made or operate in a way that:
- uses fewer natural resources
- contains fewer hazardous or toxic materials
- has a longer life span
- consumes less energy or water in production or use
- can be reused or recycled on disposal
- generates less waste, for example be made from recycled materials, use less packaging or be recycled by the supplier.
Defra’s ‘Quick Wins' are specifically designed for procurers. They are a set of sustainable specifications for a range of commonly-purchased products, such as IT equipment, white goods and paper.
The European Commission's website for Green Public Procurement contains advice and information on the compliance of products and services to green criteria.
What about the cost?
The price of green products has often been regarded as a barrier to green purchasing. Some products may be more expensive, but many are of equal or better price than their non-green equivalents. Price often depends on supply and demand; the more we buy the cheaper the product becomes.
Specifications reflecting performance needs, comparison shopping, bulk purchase, competitive bid processes and whole life costing are the best ways to control costs. Furthermore, green procurement usually goes hand in hand with waste minimisation, meaning you use less in the first place.
