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GO GREEN! BUY GREEN!Green Purchasing at PSU
Julia Fraser: Graduate Research AssistantCampus Sustainability OfficeGreen Teams Meeting July 15, 2010
What is “green” purchasing?
Green Purchasing is simply choosing products and services that reduce impacts on human health and the environment, where feasible.
Every PSU purchase has an impact on our community, human health, and our
environment.
PSU’s green purchasing program seeks to support and encourage PSU staff, faculty and administrators to buy
greener products.
A Buy Green Coordinator
Web page – coming soon…
Checklists, resources, facts sheets, cases studies and links to other programs
Market research and campus collaboration
Go Green! Buy Green!
What can you do? Reduce consumption Ask for help or suggestions – we can provide research
for you Provide outreach and education You can lead by example Help implement purchasing standards Pilot test “green” alternatives Write up case studies to present to other Green
Teams Direct colleagues to Go Green! Buy Green! resources
on campus
What does buying green look like?Choosing:• Recycled content products
• Energy-and water-efficient products– Standby power devices– ENERGY STAR products– EPEAT-registered products
• Alternative fuel vehicles/alternative fuels
• Environmentally preferable products– Non-toxic products and services– Food service– Building products– Green meetings and conference services
How to buy green – ask questions• What is the product made of?
– non-renewable resources?– fossil fuels?– toxic components?
• How was it manufactured?– processed with chlorine?– pollution producing?– other social or environmental impacts?
• How much energy does it use?• How much water does it use?• How do I dispose of it?
How to buy green – the basics
Look for these green attributes:Durable/ReusableRecycled contentEnergy EfficientNon ToxicThird party Ecolabels:
such as Green Seal, EcoLogo, EPEAT, Energy Star, FSC
How to buy green – the basics
Think about the total cost of owning the goods not just the initial purchase price
A more efficient product may cost more at purchase, but will not cost as much to run over its life
Think about the Life Cycle of a CD
• Materials Extraction• Materials Processing• Manufacturing• Packaging• Transportation• Useful Life• Reuse, Recycling or Disposal
Source Reduction
Recycled Products
Energy and Water Conservation
Toxics and Pollution
Social Equity
Best Practices
By less stuff - PSU ReUse Room!- Facilities Surplus
Durable vs. Disposable
Consider total cost of ownership
Packaging: request recyclable packaging or less of it!
Source Reduction
Building materials - recycled plastic lumber
Office Supplies - pens, paper, binders
Textiles - towels, bags, shirts
Recycled Products
Buying recycled content products supports recycling markets, keeping valuable materials out of the landfill.
Energy Star Compliance
Water Sense
Responsible use
Turn off at night
Wise use of energy and water not only reduces costs, but reduces the demand for fossil fuels
and conserves precious fresh water resources for everyone.
Energy and Water Conservation
Cleaning Products - Avoid Chlorine based products.- Green Seal or EcoLogo certified
Paints - Low VOC paint- Metro Recycled Paint
Electronics - RoHS, and EPEAT certifications
Textiles and Fabric - Carpet, curtains, upholstery- Greenguard certification
Toxics Reduction
MWESB vendors - Support Oregon MWESB- Purchasing and Contracting
Local vendors - Keeps $ in state- Supports local jobs
Ethics - Sweatshop produced? - Working conditions
- Environmental stewardship
- Community health
Fair Trade - Fair trade certification
Social Equity
Paper – its an easy win
In FY09, PSU purchased 816 cases of virgin copy paper (36% of total).+
Switching to 100% post-consumer paper would SAVE the equivalent of:
• 528 trees*• CO2 equivalent of 2 cars/year *• 241,261 gallons of water *• enough energy to power 2 homes/year *
+ 2010 PSU Paper Report * Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator.
What to look for when buying paper
Recycled Content – 100% PCW (Post Consumer Waste) is best
Processed Chlorine Free – No chlorine or chlorine compounds were
used in the papermaking process. - Certified by Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA)
Sustainable Forestry- Look for FSC certified
Boise Aspen 50% or 100%
Grays Harbor 100
Office Depot Envirocopy
Office Max Recycled Multipurpose
And many more!!!
Brands of paper to consider
Reduce paper use!By reducing your paper consumption you can offset the cost of recycled paper.
• Give unwanted one-sided printouts a second chance as draft paper.
(NOT CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS)
• Dedicate one of the trays in the printer for
printing with draft paper
• Check the PSU ReUse Room first (they’re free!)• Choose durable and reusable vs disposable• Choose recycled content
Post-its hanging files file folders paper clips binder clips and more…
Office Supplies
Recycled content stick pens: only $0.03 cents more per pen
100% recycled paper: $0.38 cents more per ream than virgin
Recycled content paper clips: $0.22 more per box
* Cost information from comparison provided by Office Depot
Examples of greener products
Lets kick “Canned Air”In FY09 PSU bought 240 cans from Office Depot
Its not even “air”:
Flammable and toxic compressed gasese.g. Tetrafluoroethane
There are a lot of creative alternatives:Giotto’s RocketA paint brushData Vac electric duster
Save money & reduce waste
Toner Cartridge Recycling
PSU has a toner recycling contract with Sustain. Please use it! > Just fill out a Work Order and PSU Recycles will do the rest!
> Set up a central collection point for cartridges
Helps us track our recycling!
Sustain will pick up the pallets of cartridges at no cost to PSU
Close the Loop! Try Remanufactured cartridges
Each new toner requires half a gallon of oil to make the new plastic*
One remanufactured toner cartridge saves… 0.5 gallon of oil not required for new plastic 2.5 lbs metal and plastic saved from landfill
Plus – they are cheaper!! Save PSU some $$$ resources!
*Stopwaste.org
Air Travel12,000 MTeCO2 from PSU air travel in FY08
11% of PSU total emissions.*
PSUs Climate Action Plan Goals• Tracking travel data• Outreach and awareness of less carbon-intensive forms• Remove internal and OUS wide barriers to choosing less
carbon-intensive forms of travel• Adding a box on travel forms acknowledging carbon impact• Creating an employee offset program
* PSU Climate Action Plan 2010
Questions?
We can provide research, resources and work with you to develop specifications, or just give you advice and ideas to help you GO GREEN! BUY GREEN!
