A surge in computer purchasers around the globe looking to buy electronic products has led to the announcement yesterday of a partnership between two leading eco-labels to support the rapid growth of demand for environmentally preferable electronics.

EPEAT, the pre-eminent environmental ratings system for computers, and EcoLogo, an internationally recognized environmental standard setting and certification body, have agreed to partner to ensure that electronics manufacturers who want to register products in the rapidly growing EPEAT registry can do so through either EcoLogo or EPEAT. read more

Not-for-profits, corporations, academics, governments, public sector, labor, and co-operative organizations alike can all take part in a network that aims to help them get the best value while taking into account environmental, social, and ethical aspects of the products and services they buy over their entire lifecycle. This is called sustainability purchasing, and it is a key leverage point when it comes to influencing those aspects of the supply chain and delivering positive environmental, social, ethical, and economic benefits to the regions these organizations operate in. read more

Consumed at a rapid rate in offices, paper is often the first product organizations focus on when they decide to ‘go green.’

As part of the paper making process, trees, water, and energy are consumed and by-products such as hazardous waste and greenhouse gases are emitted.

To bridge the gap between the need for paper and its effects on the environment, The Responsible Purchasing Network at the non-profit Center for a New American Dream has come up with a Guide for Copy Paper to help purchasers keep costs and paper consumption down. The guide contains best practices from how to increase paper efficiency to recycling; looking at cost, quality and supply; model policies; minimum specifications for copy paper; how to look for standards and certifications as well as access to a database of eco-labeled paper products such as those that are EcoLogo, CFPA and Green Seal certified.

“What the Guide to Copy Paper does is demonstrate how switching to improved environmental papers saves money and paper. It’s about increasing efficiency,” says Chris O’Brien, Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network.

RPN’s site, www.responsiblepurchasing.org, also features a Paper Calculator that was developed by the Environmental Defense Fund. This tool helps companies to quantify the benefits of making better choices when it comes to copy paper selection and use.

Check back for more online tools to help measure your company’s resource consumption.

North America’s largest cleaning show, ISSA, took place in Las Vegas, NV, last week and the attention “green” cleaning received was incredible.

Eco-labels were out in force at the Las Vegas Convention Center and exhibitors included Green Seal, Design for the Environment (DfE), Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) and our very own EcoLogo.

Scot Case, Vice President of TerraChoice, was a speaker at the show and his presentation on how to sell “green” cleaning without greenwashing really hit the mark. A look around the tradeshow floor revealed many companies making green claims without any supporting evidence.

Attendees at ISSA also got a sneak-peek at the August 2008 EcoMarkets Janitorial & Sanitation Products Study, which is full of highly relevant findings to assist manufacturers, suppliers and marketers of “green” cleaning products to properly position their products in the marketplace to win customers and increase market share.

For more about the EcoMarkets Janitorial & Sanitation Products Study, contact ecomarkets@terrachoice.com.

The blog is on the road with Scot Case, Vice President of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing. Read what he has to say about an educational conference he recently spoke at…

Greetings!

When I spoke about green purchasing at a National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) conference ten years ago, there were six people in the room and three of them were speakers.

At this year’s event, the entire conference was green. The NIGP Annual Forum and Products Exposition that took place from July 26 to 30, 2008, demonstrates a real shift toward sustainability. It had numerous green purchasing sessions and an entire “Green Alley” on the trade show floor devoted to green products and services. NIGP is also to be commended for its efforts in “greening” the conference. From reducing large binders full of paper to a CD and using compostable cups for water instead of bottles, this conference made a difference by lessening its impact on the environment.

Also of note at this event was the launch of the Green Knowledge Community.

“Created as a benefit for members, the Green Knowledge Community provides easy access to resources and tools to help public purchasers make informed decisions about green policies and products,” says Belinda Reutter, Member Services Director at NIGP. “This resource is primarily for educational purposes and brings together experts to share information about environmentally preferable products and social and economic responsibility in public procurement.”

To learn more about NIGP’s Green Knowledge Community, click here.

- Scot Case

TerraChoice Environmental Marketing recently released its EcoMarkets 2008 Summary Report to the public and the results have to be shared. Here is a sneak-peek at some of the findings:

· Over $78 billion of purchasing power is represented in this study and the majority of survey respondents control at least half of their organization’s total procurement budget.

· Sixty-eight percent (68%) of North American organizations increased their green purchasing in the past 12 months and 91% of purchasers believe they will become more active green purchasers over the next two years.

· An overwhelming majority of survey respondents (72%) believe eco-labels contribute to better purchasing decisions.

· Purchasers identified the eco-labels they rely on most frequently to help make purchasing decisions. Results show that Energy Star (60%) and EcoLogo (27%) are the most frequently-used eco-labels.

The purpose of the EcoMarkets 2008 Summary Report is to inform our clients, partners and public audiences about the attitudes and practices of North American buyers towards environmentally preferable purchasing. The report is a public summary of research conducted in 2007 and 2008 in partnership with the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation and with the Responsible Purchasing Network – a project of the Center for a New American Dream.

To get a free copy of the EcoMarkets 2008 Summary Report, email Melissa Peneycad at ecomarkets@terrachoice.com.

OfficeMax had some really cool news out last week. The green-savvy retailer has partnered with the award-winning, green start-up company TerraCycle. OfficeMax is launching the partnership with seven TerraCycle products including a line of EcoLogo-certified, TerraCycle Natural Cleaners. Besides being plant-based, non-toxic and biodegradable, these cleaners are packaged directly in used soda bottles! Talk about innovative recycling.

TerraCycle has a storied if still-short history in bringing eco-friendly products to market. The company, founded by 25-year-old Tom Szaky started out with worm poop plant food, making it big with distribution through WalMart and The Home Depot in 2005.

Meanwhile OfficeMax is one of several retailers on a quest to become one of the greenest big-box stores around. And as more and more retailers fight for top green honors, certifications from accredited ecolabelers like EcoLogo grow increasingly important for retail suppliers. TerraCycle certainly makes for tough supplier competition.

Last week the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) published its latest report on the efforts of federal agencies to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices. The report comes out every two years and covers a wide range of environmental impact areas. Among the findings: by the end of fiscal year 2006, “most of the largest [federal] purchasing agencies, as well as many of the other executive agencies, had developed or were developing comprehensive integrated green purchasing programs.” That’s great news because it means governmental organizations should drive growth in green manufacturing. Earlier this year I referenced the Department of Defense’s green procurement policy and the associated financial incentive for the DOD’s suppliers to offer green products. Clearly financial incentives to go green have expanded significantly across the government sector.

The OFEE also went beyond tracking the purchasing plans of federal agencies in its report and attempted to measure where implementations of new green purchasing policies have been successful. For example, federal agencies are now actively seeking computer products that reduce standby power. It is estimated that bringing power consumption down on standby mode could save taxpayers more than $400 million in annual energy costs over the next six years, and should save enough equivalent energy to power 630,000 homes for one year.

Other examples of success include an increase in the number of biobased products (cleaning products, solvents, etc.) being used and tested by federal agencies, and the fact that the IRS prints all annual income tax forms on recycled content paper.

All in all, there is more green purchasing going on. And more green purchasing means more money in the green supply chain.

I started buying organic milk recently, and while I love that I’m lessening my environmental impact, I’m not wild about the higher price. The fact is that buying green is not always the cheapest option, at least in the short term. However, there are different ways to look at pricing. What’s the value of the product? What’s the life cycle cost? What are the long-term implications of the cost of a product? Most of these considerations won’t help with my milk buying, but they do help with other kinds of purchasing.

In talking with Scot Case (long-time environmental professional and TerraChoice VP) a while back, he pointed out that a lot of organizations use different kinds of pricing calculators to facilitate the procurement process. For example, if you measure the life cycle cost of a range of products, you may find that the cheapest one in the short term is the most expensive over the lifetime of that product. Think about compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). They cost more outright, but they last longer and use less electricity, making them cheaper overall.

Less common than life cycle calculators are value pricing calculators. These calculators take into account different product factors like price, performance and environmental impact. Products get points for each category, and the total scores are compared for the product with the best value.

For a real-life example of pricing analysis I talked to the folks over at SCA Tissue about how they sell their EcoLogo-certified paper products to their business customers. I was told that one of SCA’s popular products is something called the Xpressnap system. It’s a controlled-consumption dispenser that limits consumer napkin usage. Less waste = good for the environment. Less material needed = good for the business bottom line. In a life cycle cost review, Xpressnap is less expensive overall than other competitive products. It’s a good selling point, and one that SCA has used very successfully with big-business customers.

Green Biz reports in a recent article that small businesses make up 99.9% of all businesses in the US and employ half the private sector workforce. Put together that represents a lot of clout - whether you’re talking about lobbying Congress or influencing an environmental movement.

Of course, each small business is its own entity, which means that individuals in these companies have to take on the challenge of making big changes. It’s fun, however, to play the “What if?” game. What if every small business in the US instituted a green procurement policy? Replaced incandescent light bulbs with CFLs? Reduced waste? Increased energy efficiency? Imagine the impact.

Fortunately, there are a number of resources for small companies looking to do their part. The Green Biz article points to the Small Business Environmental Home Page, for example, which links to a phenomenal number of local resources across the country. And EcoLogo can help with your green shopping list for office purchases. Find green products in the categories of:

• Office furniture
• Office paneling
• Office machines and printing cartridges
• Paper products including forms and envelopes
• Pens and pencils

Small business. Big impact.