Intro to Buy Green_

							GO GREEN! BUY GREEN!
Green Purchasing at PSU




Julia Fraser: Graduate Research Assistant
Campus Sustainability Office
Green 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.
Go Green! Buy Green!
PSU’s green purchasing program seeks to support and
encourage PSU staff, faculty and administrators to buy
greener products.

   A Buy Green Coordinator

   buygreen@pdx.edu

   Web page – coming soon…

   Checklists, resources, facts sheets, cases studies and
    links to other programs

   Market research and campus collaboration
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/Reusable
  Recycled content
  Energy Efficient
  Non Toxic
  Third 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
Best Practices

   Source Reduction

   Recycled Products

   Energy and Water Conservation

   Toxics and Pollution

   Social Equity
Source Reduction
      By less stuff   - PSU ReUse Room!
                      - Facilities Surplus

      Durable vs. Disposable



      Consider total cost of ownership



      Packaging: request recyclable packaging or less
        of it!
Recycled Products
          Building materials - recycled plastic lumber



          Office Supplies    - pens, paper, binders




          Textiles           - towels, bags, shirts




Buying recycled content products supports recycling markets,
        keeping valuable materials out of the landfill.
Energy and Water Conservation
                   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.
Toxics Reduction
    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
Social Equity
   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
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
Brands of paper to consider
  Boise Aspen 50% or 100%



  Grays Harbor 100



  Office Depot Envirocopy



  Office Max Recycled Multipurpose

              And many more!!!
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
Office Supplies
•   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…
 Examples of greener products
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
Lets kick “Canned Air”
In FY09 PSU bought 240 cans from Office Depot


Its not even “air”:
     Flammable and toxic compressed gases
     e.g. Tetrafluoroethane


There are a lot of creative alternatives:
     Giotto’s Rocket
     A paint brush
     Data 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 Travel
        12,000 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?

        buygreen@pdx.edu



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!