ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING
The Greening of Our Natio
sustainability by focusing on greening a number of park functions, including
purchasing, maintenance, planning, interpretation, and concessions. A key element of
the partnership is demonstrating to park staff, managers, and visitors that environmen-
tally preferable purchasing is a tool to achieve their sustainability goals.
To kick off this endeavor, NPS held its first charrette at Big Cypress National Preserve
in south Florida. The park's Superintendent, John Donohue, made opening remarks and
emphasized that part of NPS' mission is to be "demonstrators, not regulators."
Furthermore, he discussed the opportunity to educate more than 280 million park visi-
tors each year about sustainability approaches, including greener products and services.
During the first day of the charrette, NPS experts presented brief overviews of key issues
' -preaches in areas such as transportation, facilities, operations, and procurement.
< Continued on Page 2 >
Highlights
Greening Our National
Parks
Sustainable Public
Housing
Federal Network for
Sustainability
Shopping Online for
Green Office Supplies
New CPG Database
And More!
EPP PIONEERS:
Planning for a Green Future
Kathy Seikel knows a bit about
"green" purchasing. After working
for 8 years in EPAs Office of
Acquisition Management (OAM)—where
she headed up the staff responsible for
ensuring the integrity of EPAs $4 billion-
a-year contracted programs—she made a
transition to EPAs Office of Prevention,
Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS)
where she served as the senior policy
advisor for grants and contracts. When
an opportunity arose for Kathy to take a
temporary position on OPPTS' EPP team,
she leapt at the chance to combine her
extensive technical skills in federal pro-
curement with her commitment to the
»
environment. Kathy
recognized EPAs
unique position as a
promoter of govern-
mentwide green purchasing and a major
procurer of services and supplies.
Working with OAM management, she
cleared the way for EPA to "walk the
talk" in green contracting by pursuing
opportunities for converting convention-
al contracts into EPP contracts.
Kathy began this process by integrating
pollution prevention principles into the
purchase of products, but soon expand-
ed her scope to include services, which
< Continued on Page 11 >
Printed on processed chlorine-free paper, including 25 percent hemp and 75 percent postconsumer fiber.
-------
EPP in Practice
The EPP Update is highlighting a variety of paper types that EPA has deter-
mined to have certain positive environmental attributes. The paper choice
for this issue is Vanguard Eco Blend. Look to future issues of the EPP
Update to highlight additional paper types.
Well, It Happened Again....
As some of our readers might have realized, the paper
actually used to print EPP Update #10 was not the
paper EPA had specified. The newsletter was supposed
to be printed on Living Tree Paper Company's Vanguard Eco
Blend—a processed chlorine-free (PCF) paper that includes 25
percent virgin hemp and 75 percent postconsumer fiber. The
paper used for Update #10 was actually the standard paper used
by EPA for all of its quick-turnaround contract jobs. The specifi-
cation for that paper is the same except that the 25 percent vir-
gin hemp fiber was actually 25 percent postconsumer fiber,
making it a 100 percent postconsumer fiber, PCF paper (which
has a fine environmental profile in its own right). We also incor-
rectly referred to the paper in the article as "100 percent recy-
cled content" when it should have read "totally free of virgin
tree pulp."
How Could This Happen?
The first step of the EPP process involves "defining EPP,"
while the second step deals with "fitting EPP into the procure-
ment process." Despite establishing procedures with EPAfe print
shop after Update #4 was printed on the standard contract
paper (30 percent postconsumer paper at the time) instead of
the kenaf/postconsumer blend EPA had specified, mistakes can
still be made. Mistakes happen most often when a special pro-
cedure is requested that deviates from standard practice. Until
environmentally preferable products or services are offered as
the standard practice, there may be a bump in the road here
and there, but EPP pioneers keep going!
Let's Try It Again...
This issue of the EPP Update is printed on Vanguard Eco
Blend processed chlorine-free (PCF) paper, including 25 percent
virgin hemp and 75 percent postconsumer fiber. For further
information on Vanguard Eco Blend or other Living Tree papers,
contact the Living Tree Paper Company at 800 309-2974, or
visit the company's Web site at .
Conference Helps
More than 130 government and
private sector purchasing officials
and other interested parties from
around the world gathered in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, from April 22 to 25 to learn
more about environmentally preferable
purchasing. The first-ever North American
Conference on Green Purchasing, orga-
nized and co-hosted by the Center for a
New American Dream (the Center) and
TerraChoice Environmental Services, Inc.,
attracted people from 7 countries and 25
U.S. states.
Conference attendees heard from sever-
al notable speakers, including the
Honourable Gilbert Parent, Canadian
Ambassador for the Environment, and
Ray Anderson, Chairman of Interface,
Inc., a Fortune 500 company that strives
for sustainability in all aspects of its floor
covering production process. They also
participated in a wide variety of sessions
devoted to specific environmental pur-
NPS < Continued from Page 1 >
On the second day, participants worked
in small groups on these issues, develop-
ing short-term, interim, and long-term
goals and actions for Big Cypress. This
t event was very well-
received by the Big
Cypress managers
and staff, as well as
participants from
other parks.
Based on lessons from
the two-day event, NPS
expects that the charrette
will serve as a model for sus-
tainability planning at other national
parks designated as Centers for
-------
Further Green Purchasing
chasing topics, such as how to design an
environmentally preferable purchasing
program, how to "sell" the environmental
purchasing concept to political leaders and
other key audiences, and how to leverage
the power of institutional purchasing to
increase product availability. Participants
debated the future of lifecycle assessments
and eco-labels in sessions on these topics.
They also attended sessions devoted to
specific commodity areas to learn about
the availability of more environmentally
preferable office products, paper, cleaning
products, and electricity options.
"One of the most exciting aspects of the
conference," according to Betsy Taylor,
executive director for the Center, "was
bringing together so many experts from
across the country and around the world
to share their knowledge with the state
and local government purchasers we are
trying to help."
The conference was held at the Sheraton
Rittenhouse, which conference organizers
consider one of the most environmentally
preferable hotels in the United States.
Conference proceedings will be available
soon on the Center's Procurement
Strategies Web site. For additional infor-
mation about the conference or the
Center's purchasing program, visit
or e-mail
Scot Case at .
Environmental Innovation (CEI). Several
more charrettes will take place in the next
year. Big Cypress National Preserve is one
of 20 CEIs in the nation. CEIs are park
areas where research, development, and
appreciation of sustainable practices occur.
The intent is for these areas to serve as cat-
alysts to teach and inspire people with
concepts and values of sustainability One
of the key expectations is that these CEI
parks will be showcases for environmen-
tally preferable products and services.
For more information on the Big
Cypress charrette or CEIs, contact Julie
Shannon of EPA at 202 564-8834 or
Shawn Norton of NPS at 202 565-1260.
Several key action items emerged from the charrette, which will
guide Big Cypress' greening activities:
• Form green teams, which will help keep momentum going.
• Communicate the results of the charrette to other park staff.
• Educate park visitors about the new green initiatives.
• Become a leader and model for other national parks, as well as state and local pa
Charrette: n. An intensive
planning workshop that
allows for multidiscipli-
nary participation from a
variety of stakeholders to
create an integrated
design of a building,
landscape, or community.
-------
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' • ,'J LIUl
. J ~
P«rki m * Ac n«r of
i Ihii effort Thii pUn UHJ
9 JJl'.-' - liT"r--"
HOPE'S Goals |
The transformation of Scott/Carver Home:
through HUD's HOPE VI revitalization grant
program is designed "to end physical, social,
and economic isolation of obsolete and
distressed public housing by recreating and
supporting sustainable communities and
lifting residents from dependence and
persistent poverty."
Bringing HOPE
The cramped, no-frills, barracks-style
buildings along Northwest 22nd
Avenue in Miami, Florida, symbolize
the stigma of public housing. Established
in 1954, the Scott Homes development
consists of 754 dwelling units. More than
a decade later, Carver Homes built 96
units right next door. Although both of
these public housing projects were con-
structed to meet the rising demand for
affordable housing at the time, today these
developments—the largest public housing
complex in Florida—appear outdated and
raise serious structural and health con-
cerns, making Scott/Carver Homes over-
due for redevelopment.
Unique partnerships and fortunate cir-
cumstances have given Scott/Carver Homes
and its residents a second chance.
Community representatives, local law
enforcement, environmental groups, federal
agencies, private corporations, and numer-
ous other stakeholders came together over
two intense days in December 2001 to
assist the Miami-Bade Housing Agency
(MDHA) in planning a sustainable vision
for Scott/Carver Homes. The design char-
rette provided a unique forum for develop-
ing environmentally sustainable solutions
for the community—from deconstruction
to demolition to redevelopment.
EPAs EPP program supported the
Southface Energy Institute in convening
the design charrette. In addition, the EPP
program provided technical assistance to a
working group charged with recommend-
ing "green" building materials to MDHA
and the design team. The following is a
summary of the recommendations from
the various stakeholders comprising the
working group. For a more detailed list of
these recommendations or to review each
of the working group's recommendations
on a variety of sustainable design con-
cepts, read the Final Report at:
.
-------
to a Community in Despair
Design Charrette
Recommendations*
Specify Environmentally
Preferable and Locally Produced
Materials in Contract Language
The following resources can help when
choosing environmentally preferable
products:
• EPAs EPP Database contains green
building contract language, voluntary
standards, and case studies:
.
• Building for Environmental and
Economic Sustainability is a software
program that supports lifecycle costing
and environmental impact decision mak-
ing: .
Provide Good Indoor
Environmental Quality for
Residents
• Select and specify no or low-volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) in paints
and finishes.
• Select hard flooring surfaces in non-
bedroom areas.
• If using particle board or medium-
density fiberboard, coat with low- or
no-VOC paint.
• Install and upgrade air filters.
• Design a separate usable entry with
seating area to allow removal of outer-
wear prior to entering home.
Choose Materials That Are
Appropriately Durable
Providing residents with durable struc-
tures and materials keeps operation and
maintenance requirements to a minimum.
Using lifecycle costing, products and
materials can be appropriately compared
to determine cost and maintenance over
time. For example, outdoor deck and rail-
ing material made from recycled plastic
lumber is long-lasting, does not use toxic
preservatives, and requires no sealants or
coatings, as wood does.
Provide Education to the
Community Before and After
Redevelopment
Project success often hinges on com-
munity commitment. Addressing per-
ceptions of "poor quality" that might
mistakenly be associated with salvaged
materials, stained concrete floors, or
recycled products is critical. Try the fol-
lowing techniques to help residents feel
comfortable with the materials used in
the development of their homes:
• Display materi-
al options and
provide "touch
and feel"
opportunities.
• Create a model
home fur-
nished and
replete with
labeled "green"
products.
• Provide a
photo album of other homes employ-
ing similar products and technologies.
• Show video footage of community
charrettes to showcase transparency of
decision-making.
Conduct Operation and
Maintenance Education
To maintain a healthy environment for
residents, focus continuing education
efforts on:
• Healthy cleaning products.
• Operation and maintenance of air-
conditioning and heating systems.
• Appropriate and natural methods of pest
management (indoor and outdoor pests).
• Furniture and finishing choices as they
relate to indoor environmental quality.
• Energy- and water-saving practices.
:or more information,
:ontact Alison Kinn of
LPA at 202 564-8859
>r by e-mail at
ckinn.alison @epa.gov>.
* These recommendations are
not necessarily the views of
EPA. They were developed by
multiple stakeholders partici-
pating in the design charrette.
-------
EPP Investigative Reporting:
How Easy is it to Shop Online for
The IRS anticipates
spending up to $15
million a year on office
supplies, while DOE's
Pacific Northwest
Laboratory spends
approximately $34
million.
These days, when government
workers need to purchase copy
paper or file folders, they will
likely pull out a government-issued
credit card. These cards can be used on
"micropurchases," which for most gov-
ernment purchase card holders is
$2,500 or less, a limit that covers most
office supplies. But how easy is it for
the typical customer to buy a "green"
office product from the top office prod-
uct suppliers? The majority of office
supplies sold to the federal government
are purchased through GSA Advantage!
or other major office product compa-
nies such as Staples, Office Depot,
Boise Cascade Office Products, and
Corporate Express. In addition, some
office supply companies, such as
Recycled Office Products, focus on pro-
viding only green products to
their customers. The EPP pro-
gram tried its hand at buying
green products from these sup-
pliers' Web sites and compiled
some interesting findings.
Does the Company Sell
Green Products?
GSA carries several "green" items and,
as the government supplier of office
products, establishes some basic environ-
mental criteria for vendors. For example,
all GSA copy paper contains at least 30
percent postconsumer content, meeting
the requirements set in Executive Order
13101. All five private companies we visit-
ed also sell products that they identify as
"green." Most are items with recycled-
content, including paper, plastic products,
and remanufactured toner cartridges. We
found chlorine-free paper products at
Staples and Recycled Office Products, and
nontoxic and/or biodegradable items on
four of the companies' Web sites. Boise
Cascade and Corporate Express carry both
30 percent and 100 percent recycled-
content paper.
How are Green Products
Identified?
GSA has special icons that denote
green attributes, including "environmen-
tal items," "CPG compliant," and "recy-
cled content." From the Web site,
however, it is difficult to determine
which products are considered "envi-
ronmental items." Certain office prod-
ucts have a tree icon representing their
qualification as an "environmental
item," but the basis of this distinction is
unclear. Three of the private companies
also have a way of distinguishing envi-
ronmental products from other items.
Staples has a "Recycled Products" link,
which shows up on top of the page
when you shop for paper. Clicking on
the icon gives you a list of recycled
paper products and links to more infor-
mation about recycling. Recycled-
content items on Corporate Express'
Web site have a small icon next to them,
as do the items on the Recycled Office
Products Web site, even though most of
them are recycled to begin with.
Is Environmental Attribute
Information Available?
Identifying a product as "recycled" or
"environmentally friendly" is one thing,
but determining exactly what attributes a
product has can be difficult. Fortunately,
GSA and all five companies provide rela-
tively detailed attribute information.
GSA relies on the vendor to provide
environmental attribute information,
-------
Green Office Supplies?
meaning the level of detail is dependent
on what the vendor submits. In prelimi-
nary searches, most GSA office products
had environmental attribute information
available. All five private companies list
the recycled and/or postconsumer con-
tent percentages of recycled products. In
some cases, they include more specific
information, such as chlorine-free or
acid-free. Office Depot and Recycled
Office Products even include informa-
tion about the environmental attributes
of product packaging (e.g., recycled-
content, soy-based inks), while
Corporate Express explains that its "envi-
ronmentally friendly" cleaners are non-
toxic and biodegradable. Unfortunately,
none of the nongovernment companies'
Web sites mentioned third-party certifica-
tion (e.g., Green Seal) or CPG compliance
of products, although Staples sells a few
items bearing the Energy Star® label.
Are Government Green
Purchasing Requirements
Indicated?
Most of the companies do not
describe the federal government's green
purchasing requirements outlined in
Executive Order 13101. Boise Cascade
Office Products states that its 30 percent
postconsumer-content paper meets "fed-
eral and state guidelines for recycled
content," but this claim is not applied to
its 100 percent postconsumer-content
paper, which obviously exceeds the
< Continued on Page 12 >
for Thought
»n
'j?Ss^^^^^^
?s^^S:s^^^^^'^^a,
For more information on
GSA Advantage! and the
companies discussed in this
article, visit their Web sites:
• Boise Cascade Office
Products
;
Boise Cascade Company
• Corporate Express
• GSA Advantage
• Office Depot
• Recycled Office Products
• Staples
c°ntact the
-------
What Happened to the EPP Guides?
Last December, the EPP program
published six purchasing guides
on the following product and ser-
vice categories: Cleaning Products,
Meetings and Conferences, Carpet,
Electronics, Copiers, and Food
Serviceware. Following the release of
the guides, EPA heard both positive and
negative feedback from a wide variety
of stakeholders. Generally,
some of our stakeholders'
greatest concerns
The EPP program strives to operate in a transparent manner, with
open participation and counsel from our stakeholders. However,
because of the concerns raised, we have developed a new process
for the EPP purchasing guides to allow for broader review and com-
ment from all stakeholders. A brief description of the new process is
shown below:
Process for development and review of EPP product guides:
1. Make changes based upon comments and information received
to date.
2. Publish notice in the Federal Register announcing that the draft
guides are available for review and soliciting input on existing stan-
dards, lifecycle impacts, and other relevant information.
3. Send revised draft to key stakeholders and simultaneously post
on the EPP Web site as draft, with request for comments within
30 days.
4. Consider the appropriateness of a stakeholder meeting for guides.
5. Establish record for comments and publicize (via Web site and
other means) procedures for submitting/reviewing comments.
6. Make further revisions as necessary based on additional com-
ments and post revised document along with comments on the
Web site.
7. Allow for stakeholders with major concerns to request a meeting
before we publish the document as final.
At this time, we are not contemplating any new purchasing guides.
Should we determine that additional guides are appropriate, we will
follow a similar process for their development and review.
focused on EPAfe process for developing
the guides. While we had consulted
with many of our colleagues in and
outside the Agency, many interested
stakeholders did not have the opportu-
nity to review and comment on the
guides prior to publication. Due to
these concerns, we suspended distribu-
tion and are now treating the guides as
drafts for public comment. A formal
review process will be initiated in the
near future (see text box).
EPA conceived the guides as a way to
communicate the challenges, successes,
and resources associated with various
products and services, focusing on how
to incorporate environmental consider-
ations into purchasing decisions. In
addition, each guide sets out to present
to purchasers the potential environmen-
tal impacts of their decisions.
Some stakeholders expressed the con-
cern that the guides were endorsing cer-
tain products. EPAs EPP program does
not endorse products nor does it recom-
mend or discourage the purchase of
specific products. However, the program
does provide guidance and information
on relevant environmental attributes for
a number of product and service cate-
gories. Environmentally preferable pur-
chasing seeks the overall best value,
taking into account considerations of
price, performance, and environmental
impact. Because purchasers typically
have well-established sources of infor-
mation and methods for evaluating
price and performance, the EPP pro-
gram's information products (like the
guides) focus primarily on the environ-
mental factors in the EPP equation.
Please "stay tuned" to our Web site for
the latest developments. We look forward
to working with all of our stakeholders
on creating valuable EPP resources.
-------
EPA Makes Buying Recycled A Snap
This summer, EPA will unveil a new database to make complying with its
Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) easier. CPG forms the
foundation of the federal government's buy-recycled program, which
requires agencies to purchase certain designated items containing the highest
percentage of recycled content possible. The searchable database of vendors who
sell or distribute CPG-designated products with recycled content will be a pow-
erful tool that allows users to search for vendors of a specific CPG product (e.g.,
Floor Tiles), product category (e.g., Construction Products), or type of material
(e.g., Plastic). In addition, users will be able to search directly for a specific ven-
dor by typing all or part of the vendor's name in a search field.
According to Terry Grist, EPA program manager for CPG, "The purpose of
moving to a database system is to provide procurement officials with a more
accessible and reliable reference source they can use to identify vendors of CPG-
designated items." Mr. Grist explains, "In the past, our lists of manufacturers and
suppliers on the CPG Web site were static and required extensive research to
maintain, which greatly reduced the utility of the information." The new auto-
mated system will allow EPA to more readily update and maintain the vendor
information.
The database is expected to be fully operational on the CPG Web site
by the end of the summer, with continued efforts being
made to update and expand the information.
www.epa.gov/cpg
-------
"Of special note is
one of the guiding
principles contained
in the Statement of
Unity - 'to act as a
catalyst for change.' I
believe FNS repre-
sents that catalyst.
As a group, we can
exert a more positive
force for change than
we can now do indi-
vidually. We will also
gain momentum for
change in capitalizing
on one another's
ideas."
—James T. Hill, Lieutenant
General, U.S. Army, Fort
Lewis, Washington
Sharing the Knowledge:
JMore and More Agencies Seek
Information about Sustainability
Imagine a place where federal
employees can go to voluntarily
learn about and share sustainability
practices. Since its inception on Earth
Day 2000, the Federal Network for
Sustainability (FNS) has provided a vir-
tual home for just that. A voluntary,
non-regulatory network of federal gov-
ernment agencies in the western United
States, FNS promotes interagency col-
laboration in the areas of planning, pur-
chasing, and managing valuable
resources. FNS is focusing on the fol-
lowing four initiatives this year:
• Electronic Products Stewardship
• Environmental Management Systems
• Green Power Procurement
• Greening Federal Copier Paper
Since our last article on this issue in
EPP Update #9 (EPA747-N-01-002),
FNS has expanded the scope of its pro-
gram by leaps and bounds. While most
of its members are still federal agencies
from the West, FNS is also working
with various city and state governments
and interest groups across the country
as they begin thinking about sustainable
practices. Perhaps one of the biggest
changes the FNS steering committee
has seen over the past year is that other
groups are seeking them out.
"FNS is at a point now where people
are coming to us for information. Many
of the agencies don't know very much
about sustainability, and often those
that do are not sure how to go about
implementing it," said Alan Hurt, FNS
Chair. Hoping to become a central
clearinghouse for communicating the
successes and challenges of implement-
ing several environmental Executive
Orders (13148, 13149, 13150, 13101,
and 13123), as well as long-term sus-
tainable practices, FNS is conducting
surveys and collecting information from
agencies that exemplify best business
practices. "These case studies," Hurt
says, "will help provide answers to
those who need help implementing sus-
tainability activities."
As FNS continues to add federal agen-
cies and others to its membership, cur-
rent members have taken a lead on
many of the initiatives. The Department
of Defense, for example, is currently
promoting the principles of
Environmental Management Systems
(EMS) through its senior management
and within other agencies. "In addition,"
Hurt adds, "the Navy is actively incor-
porating EMS principles as a standard-
ized process in all of its business lines of
operation. The key point here is that
EMS is inherent to business operations,
as well as being important from an envi-
ronmental standpoint."
With a busy year ahead, FNS will
continue to build and collect case stud-
ies for each initiative, increase collabo-
ration among federal agencies, continue
its outreach and education efforts, and
keep the lines of communication open
among the network. It is this communi-
cation that has propelled FNS forward
over the past 2 years, allowing member
agencies to use one another's expertise
for future initiatives.
For more information about FNS or
to become a member, please visit
or
contact FNS Chair Alan Hurt at
619 524-6253. For information on how
you can participate in the FNS Paper
Initiative contact Barbara Either
at 206 553-1191.
10
-------
Pioneers < Continued from Page 1 >
constitute the bulk of EPAs acquisition
budget. When EPA was about to issue
an REP for meeting management sup-
port, Kathy seized the occasion and
worked with contract officials to incor-
porate environmental criteria into the
REP "I felt that green conferencing
would serve as a
living advertise-
ment for what EPA
stands for," says
Kathy. In the REP,
companies had the
opportunity to
demonstrate their
ingenuity and cre-
ativity for planning
green conferences.
Enter MEGA-
TECH, Inc. (MTI)
under the leader-
ship of Harlan Lee,
a former conference planner for the
State Department. EPA ultimately
awarded MTI the meetings manage-
ment support contract. MTI, an award-
winning, woman-owned small business
based in Falls Church, Virginia, pro-
vides environmental and information
technology support for a variety of fed-
eral agencies.
Harlan viewed the EPA contract as an
opportunity for MTI to develop exper-
tise in green conference support and
introduce the concept to others.
Lacking green conference models to fol-
low, Harlan and his staff embarked on a
mission to develop guidelines and spec-
ifications for hosting environmentally
conscious meetings. Building from sug-
gestions for green conference activities
found on EPAs Web site, the MTI team
developed an extensive list of environ-
mental initiatives to undertake when
planning a green event.
Harlan's team now considers an
assortment of environmental criteria
when selecting a conference venue,
including proximity to mass transit;
lodging facility certification by Green
Seal based on its environmental stan-
dard for lodging properties; facility
membership in either Green Globe or
the Green Hotel and Motel Association,
which are organizations that encourage
the travel and tourism industries to
engage in environ-
mentally sound ini-
tiatives; electronic
registration and/or
checkout systems
that save paper;
well-developed
recycling programs;
and employee edu-
cation on green
policies.
Harlan and his staff
also take actions to
provide environ-
mentally responsi-
ble amenities and services throughout
the conference, such as establishing Web
sites to post conference information;
offering online services; distributing con-
ference materials on diskette or CD-
ROM; printing hard copy materials on
recycled paper; and using reusable cups,
dishes, napkins, and serving containers.
Under this EPA contract, MTI has been
supporting green conferences and meet-
ings around the country. In March 2002,
MTI organized the annual EPA OPPTS
National and Division Directors meeting
in Seattle, Washington. Harlan and his
staff continually investigate options for
enhancing green events and state that
they "are happy to be in a position to
lead the way in green conferencing."
If you would like to see the "green"
contract language from EPAs OPPTS
meeting planning support contract or
are interested in current initiatives and
tools that are making planning and
supplying green meetings easier, please
visit or contact Russell Clark
at EPA at 202 564-8856.
11
-------
Pollution Prevention and Toxics
(7409M)
EPA742-N-02-002
www.epa.gov/oppt/epp
August 2002
Office Supplies < Continued from Page 7>
standards. Similarly, in Office Depot's
description of its brand of 35 percent
postconsumer-content paper, there is an
indication that it exceeds "federal guide-
lines for recycled paper," but the site does
not provide any other specifics. Staples'
Web site includes a couple of articles
about recycling and buying recycled
office products, and one footnote refer-
ences Executive Order 13101.
What Does a Search Turn Up?
Let's face it—purchasers don't always
have time to leisurely browse through
Web sites or catalogs for green products,
but good search engines can help. We test-
ed the search engines of these companies
by searching on two types of keywords:
specific products (e.g., remanufactured
toner cartridges) and environmental attrib-
utes (e.g., nontoxic, recycled). GSA
Advantage! allows customers to specify
"environmental items" when searching or
to perform a more general keyword
search. However, GSAs large number of
vendors and its reliance on manufacturer-
supplied attribute information sometimes
produces confusing search results
(e.g., "pcf" and "processed chlorine free"
yield different results). Corporate Express
and Office Depot allow customers to
specify certain attributes when searching,
including "recycled" and "remanufac-
tured." The other companies had more
general, keyword search engines, yet they
still returned lists of items when we
searched on environmental attributes,
such as "recycled" or "nontoxic."
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