Distinguishing Green from Green-washed Building Products EcoBuild -December 11, 2008 Deborah Dunning, President & CEO

Objectives of Session Help you understand how green purchasing will strengthen your organization’s position in the national/global marketplace and reduce impacts Show you how to use currently available tools to use to measure and communicate what you achieve with a sustainable procurement program

Definition of a Green/Sustainable Procurement Program An approach to specifying and purchasing products and services that takes into account economic, environmental and social impacts of procurement options

Over-arching Strategy for Green/Sustainable Purchasing Program Focuses on best value for money option, based on optimizing cost, environmental responsibility, functionality, and quality of the required product

Benefits of Using Best Practices in Green/Sustainable Procurement Avoid criticism by shareholders and the media by creating a well thought out purchasing policy with benchmarks to be met by all suppliers

Benefits of Using Best Practices in Green/Sustainable Procurement Engage your supply chain in reducing environmental and sustainability impacts and potentially also reduce your costs for materials and product components

Benefits of Using Best Practices in Green/Sustainable Procurement Insure stakeholder confidence through transparency of green purchasing practices and use of commonly understood language and metrics

Best Global Practices in Green Product Evaluation/Purchase Use of life cycle assessment methodology to insure scientific basis of specification and purchasing processes

Best Global Practices in Green Product Evaluation/Purchase Full product life cycle assessment precludes avoidance of reporting key negative performance information

Best Global Practices in Green Product Evaluation/Purchase Required use of Product Criteria Rules insures level playing field for manufacturers

Best Global Practices in Green Product Evaluation/Purchase Peer reviewed and publicly available datasets leads to use of common language and common metrics

Best Global Practices in Green Product Evaluation/Purchase Third party verification results of product LCAs insures credibility, comparability and transparency of data used as basis for environmental/sustainability impacts

Third Party Certification Programs “21st Century corporate accountability now requires that products and services be certified with respect to most of the characteristics they claim Michael Conroy

Third Party Certification Programs All programs have common characteristics Set of standards to be met to achieve certification Process for verifying a product has met those standards Certification mark, or logo, or seal, identifying the standard used and verifying that it has been met System for auditing to ensure certification is current and is being used appropriately.

Third Party Certification Programs Separation of roles of systems development entity and certifier to their standard is required by best practices

Understanding Different EcoLabels, What They Do and Do Not Encompass Type 1 EcoLablels – Classical EcoLabel Features multiple rather than single impacts Does not require a product life cycle assessment Requires verification of performance information by a qualified and unrelated third party Examples: NSF 140, MTS SMaRT Standard

Understanding Different EcoLabels, What They Do and Do Not Encompass Type II EcoLabel - Declaration by Manufacturer or Relevant Industry Group Features either single or multiple environmental impact Does not require a product life cycle assessment Verification of performance data by qualified and unrelated third party not required

Understanding Different EcoLabels, What They Do and Do Not Encompass Type III EcoLabel – Next Generation Tools Based on ISO-compliant product LCAs Require all manufacturers to use Product Criteria Rules to determine scope of data to be collected & analyzed Encompass broad range of product performance information, including environmental, human health, mechanical, safety, and sustainability

Understanding Different EcoLabels, What They Do and Do Not Encompass Type III EcoLabels in the U. S. The Green Standard Environmental Product Declaration System, developed to meet all requirements of the standard for EPDs of the International Standards Organization and is the first and only EPD System in the U. S.

Communicating Results of Green/Sustainability Purchasing Volume purchasers in U. S. requesting nutrition type label summarizing impacts Gaia Product Profile from The Green Standard provides summary of all performance information in an EPD Web-enabled and so allows for product data and information to be downloaded into specification documents and used with BIM, Green Globes, LEED

Enrolling Your Staff in Using Your Green Purchasing System Consistently Create staff education program on best practices globally in green purchasing with learning goals for each member

Enrolling Your Staff in Using Your Green Purchasing System Consistently Establish modest budget for staff access to books, webinars and training programs Hold staff meetings monthly to discuss new resources and discuss adding new tools

Enrolling Your Staff in Using Your Green Purchasing System Consistently Inform top executive top of reductions in impacts, costs and risks, using Input-Output Analytical Tool

Enrolling Your Staff in Using Your Green Purchasing System Consistently Communicate to the marketplace and the media results of the green/sustainability procurement program, using tools like the Carbon Footprint and the Environmental Product Declaration

The Ultimate Value of Green Purchasing “The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason to hope.” -Teilhard de Chardin