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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

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

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

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

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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

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