Collaborative Environmental Procurement Strategies

May 24, 2006

Pamela Brody-HeineEco Stewardship Strategies

Zero Waste Alliance

Different Strategies

• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

• Collaborative Procurement Strategies

– Cooperative Purchasing

– ‘Servicizing’

• Tools and Resources

What is Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP)?

1) Adding environmental considerations to purchasing

decisions along with such traditional factors as

performance, price, health, and safety.

2) EPP is the act of purchasing products/services whose

environmental impacts have been considered and found

to be less damaging to the environment and human health

when compared to competing products/services.

What Are The Benefits of Environmental Purchasing for Companies?

• Many companies have achieved cost savings through environmental purchasing, such as:

– Reduced material costs for manufacturers.

– Reduced repair and replacement costs when using more durable and repairable equipment.

– Reduced disposal costs by generating less waste.

– Improved product design and performance of the product(s).

– Increased employee safety and health at the facility.

Benefits (continued)

• Many companies adopted environmental purchasing policies for such traditional business reasons as:

– Recognizing market preferences, and serving customers who have a stated interest in "environmentally friendly" products and practices.

– Distinguishing a company and its products from competitors. – Avoiding hidden costs and pursuing cost savings. – Increasing operating efficiency. – Joining an industry or international market trend.

EPP Resources• Pollution Prevention Resource Center

www.pprc.org/pubs/epp/epp_report.cfm

• New American Dream – Responsible Purchasing Network http://www.newdream.org/procure/index.php

• EPA’s website on EPP www.epa.gov/epp/index.htm

• EPA’s Guidance Document on EPA www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/guidance/finalguidancetoc.htm

• EPA’s Database of Environmental Information for Products and Services http://yosemite1.epa.gov/oppt/eppstand2.nsf

Cooperative Purchasing

• Businesses come together to form purchasing cooperatives, so they can: – Save time and money researching and developing bid

specifications

– Negotiate lower prices because of the increased magnitude of the contract

– Share equipment

– Reduce environmental impacts from transportation and logistics of products and services

Example Product/Service Areas

• Office supplies

• Janitorial services and products

• Office furniture

• Painting services

• Electronics (computers, printers, copiers, etc…)

• Waste management and recycling services

• Universal waste management services (fluorescents, batteries, cell phones,etc…)

‘Servicizing’

• Supply chain approach – shifting product providers into service providers

• Aligns incentives– Customer interested in reducing waste– Encourages hauler to reduce waste

• Include suppliers in more of the entire life cycle• Some servicizing examples include carpet leasing, office

equipment leasing, outsourcing of onsite chemical management, and office furniture supply, maintenance and moving services.

What are the Benefits of a Servicing Program?

• Environmental and cost savings without much effort on customer's behalf

• Allows customer to focus on their primary areas of business

• Maintenance and ultimate disposal is the supplier's responsibility

• Product(s) are managed by the supplier, who best knows the product, liabilities, and waste reduction opportunities

• Can help companies meet environmental goals

• Vendor can function as much as a partner, problem-solver, and information resource as the product provider

• Inherently provides incentives to maximize and recapture the end-of-life value of products and equipment

Examples

• Office Equipment and Furniture

• Carpet

• Waste

• Chemicals

Chemical Supplier Example• Typically chemical supplier is paid for the volume of

chemicals provided

• Include supplier in life cycle; increasing efficiency of processes; handling inventory management; handling disposal at end of life

• All these create incentives for suppliers to reduce the amount and toxicity of chemicals they provide

Resources

• Pollution Prevention Resource Center www.pprc.org/pubs/epr/service.cfm

• Tellus Institute www.tellus.org/b&s/publications/servicizing.pdf

• Chemical Strategies Partnership www.chemicalstrategies.org/cms_defined.htm