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Sustainable Purchasing Guides

Guides and resources that can help reduce the environmental impact of your organization’s purchasing choices.

The following Sustainable Purchasing Guides (SPGs) were designed to provide specific policy-driven product and service direction for more sustainable purchasing in a 2-page format that agency leads can use as a communication tool to agency staff who make purchasing decisions.  Each Sustainable Purchasing Guide contains:

  • Product or service description
  • “How to Purchase” direction
  • Minimum Requirements (as referenced in policy template) – these are the specific mandatory requirements for the particular good or service
  • Leadership Opportunities (as referenced in policy template) – these are optional opportunities to “push the envelope” in terms of the sustainability criteria for the particular good or service
  • Ecolabel references (as applicable)
  • Related Tips – these vary by product or service category, but relate to planning, usage, and/or disposal tips.
  • Benefits – Key benefits associated with the Minimum Requirements and/or Leadership Opportunities.  These can be tied back to the Core Strategies referenced in the policy template.
  • Related Links – Guides may also contain links to additional resources, certified product registries, and/or more details on a particular topic within the Guide.

Other reputable guidance documents are also included on this page to aid sustainable purchasing programming when they address topics not covered by existing SPGs.


 

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