Issue 13 |  January  2004
                                        ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING
Environmentally Preferable
Purchasing, or EPP, seeks
the overall best value, tak-
ing into account price com-
petitiveness, regulatory
requirements, performance
standards, and environmen-
tal impact. Because pur-
chasers typically have clear
sources of information on
regulations and well-estab-
lished methods for evaluat-
ing price and performance,
the U.S. EPA EPP program
has developed the EPP
Update to help government
environmental factors in
the EPP equation and to
keep purchasers informed
of EPP news. For more
information about the EPP
program's history, tools,
and resources, please visit
.
      Highlights
   PBTs in Vehicles
   Green Cleaners
  - Hospitals for a
   Healthy Environment
   Awards
  - Federal Electronics
   Challenge
   Greening the
   Government
   Conference
  • EPP Database
   RCRA Reporting
New  Specifications   Drive
Cleaner  Vehicle  Production
         While most people are aware
         of the air pollution impacts
         caused by car and truck
exhaust, fewer understand the enor-
mous environmental impacts of vehicle
production and disposal. The manufac-
ture and end-of-life processing of
motor vehicles generates significant
releases of heavy metals and other per-
sistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic
chemicals (PBTs).
Some PBTs are linked
to cancer, infertility
and neurological
harm; children are
most vulnerable to
their effects.
                   the federal, state, and local level, large-
                   ly because fish consumption warnings
                   have been issued for thousands of
                   waterbodies in the United States due to
                   elevated levels of this PBT  (For
                   specifics on mercury components in
                   vehicles by make and model, see
                   Vermont's manufacturer disclosure
                   information posted at
                   
important
source of mer-
cury emissions.
Reducing new
mercury releases
is a priority at
  This article was contributed by Sarah O'Brien, senior out-
reach associate for the PBT-Free Purchasing Program at
INFORM, which assists institutional buyers with developing
contract specifications to reduce or eliminate the purchase
of PBT-containing items. For more information on vehicle
specifications, or help with purchasing cleaner vehicles, see
INFORM's Web site at  or contact Sarah O'Brien at
802 479-0317 or .
                             Printed on processed chlorine-free paper, containing 100 percent postconsumer fiber.

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FPF
Powering Sustainable Paper
Production
     This issue of the EPP Update is printed on
     Mohawk Options 100% Recycled paper, which
     is processed chlorine-free, contains 100 percent
postconsumer recycled fiber, and is certified by
Green Seal. The manufacturer of the paper, Mohawk
Paper Mills, Inc., strives to minimize environmental
impacts in many aspects of its operations; as of
August 2003, it is the country's first paper mill—and
only major manufacturing facility in New York
State—to buy electrical power from emission-free,
wind-generated electricity.
  A portion of the wind power will be used in the
production of Mohawk Options 100% Recycled.
Mohawk's 2-year contract with Community Energy,
Inc. will supply power for 12,000 tons of premium
paper per year—enough power to produce 600
tractor-trailer loads of paper.
  Mohawk's Senior Vice President of Energy and
Environmental Affairs George Milner observed, "As a
company, we have always understood that our
dependency on basic resources such as water, wood,
and energy bestows on us a responsibility of environ-
mental stewardship."
  Mohawk's green power purchase will offset approx-
imately 6 million pounds of CO2, 40,000 pounds of
SO2, and 15,000 pounds of NOX annually—the
equivalent of taking more than 500 cars  off the road
per year or planting more than 300,000  trees.
"Switching a significant part of Mohawk's energy con-
sumption to a non-
polluting energy source has a direct and  positive
impact on our mission to provide forward-looking
products to our customers, while minimizing impacts
on the environment," says Tom O'Connor, Jr., presi-
dent and CEO of the company.
  For more information on Mohawk's products and its
green power purchase, visit 
and .
Massachusetts:  A  Model

for Cleaning  Green


Working Together for Greener
Cleaners
  It's now easier than ever to purchase green clean-
ers. For years, government and institutional pur-
chasers attempted to develop a method for
evaluating the environmental attributes of cleaning
products. Despite their intentions to minimize envi-
ronmental and health impacts, however, the seem-
ingly wide range of environmental criteria that
various purchasers included in their contracts made
it difficult for the cleaning products industry to
respond to the varying requirements of different
purchasers. To address this hurdle, many  of the
government purchasing pioneers from around the
country who originally attempted to buy safer
cleaning products—the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts; King County, Washington; Santa
Monica, California; and others—participated in a
cleaning products workgroup organized by the
Center for a New American Dream.
  After reviewing their own individual definitions
and specifications for green cleaning products and
those developed  by ecolabeling organizations, work-
group  members concluded that many of them
described similar products, but used different
approaches.  This finding helped the group develop
and agree on a single set of purchasing criteria—
one that is modeled after the Green Seal Standard
for Industrial and Institutional Cleaners (GS-37).
GS-37 establishes environmental requirements for
general purpose, bathroom, and glass cleaners. The
workgroup also extrapolated the GS-37 criteria to
cover additional  product areas, including  carpet
cleaners, disinfectants,  floor care products, and
hand soaps.  For more information about Green
Seal's environmental standards, visit
.

Putting the New Criteria to  Use
  In April 2003,  the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts became the first member of the
workgroup to award a contract for environmentally
preferable cleaning products using the group's new,
consensus-based environmental criteria.

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  Other state and local governments, including the
State of Minnesota and Santa Monica, California, are
following in Massachusetts' footsteps and have begun
incorporating the purchasing criteria in their con-
tracts. Hopefully, the strides made by Massachusetts
and other government purchasers that follow will
help other purchasers procure safer cleaning prod-
ucts more easily. To view a list of the products  known
to meet the consensus criteria or to see the criteria as
incorporated in the Massachusetts request for
response, visit .
The Consensus Environmental
Criteria at a Glance

Product Categories:
• General purpose cleaners
• Bathroom cleaners
• Glass cleaners
• Carpet cleaners
• Disinfectants
• Floor care products
• Hand soaps

Mandatory Environmental Criteria:
• Toxicity
• Carcinogens and reproductive toxins
• Skin and eye irritation
• Skin sensitization
• Combustibility
• Photochemical smog, tropospheric ozone
  production, and indoor air quality
• Aquatic toxicity
• Eutrophication
• Aquatic biodegradability
• Concentrates
• Fragrances
• Prohibited substances
• Training (to ensure proper use)
• Packaging
• Labeling
                                                                       Desirable Criteria:
                                                           Additional training attributes
                                                           Additional packaging attributl
                                                           Additional labeling information
                                                           Dispensing equipment that reduces worker
                                                           jlxposure to chemicals
                                                                      ^^kV
                                                           Non-animal testing
                                                           Provided asthmagen data
                                                           Corporate environmental commitment

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                              itals  for  a  Healthy
                             [onment  Recognizes  Leaders
For more information
on the H2E Program
and its award pro-
grams, or to read more
about the award win-
ners, visit the H2E
Web site at
.
H2E's award application
period for 2004 began
in December 2003. For
health care facilities and
service providers inter-
ested in receiving public
recognition for their
good work, award
applications are avail-
able on the Web site.
      Day in and day out, doctors,
      nurses, and paramedics work
      to keep entire communities
healthy—but they are not alone.
Behind the scenes in hospitals around
the country, waste management pro-
fessionals, procurement officers, and
facility managers are also ensuring the
health and safety of their communi-
ties. Now, more than ever, hospitals
are taking a lead role in minimizing
toxic chemicals in the waste stream,
purchasing environmentally prefer-
able products, and implementing pro-
grams to protect the environment and
improve worker safety.
  Recently, the Hospitals for a
Healthy Environment (H2E)
Program—a joint venture involving
EPA, the American Hospital
Association, the American Nurses
Association, and Health Care Without
Harm—recognized 84 organizations
in five categories for their exceptional
efforts in reducing the impact of
health care on the environment.
Many of the award winners incorpo-
rated EPP activities to achieve the
goals of the H2E program. The
Environmental Leadership award was
presented to two facilities for their
outstanding efforts in implementing
innovative and sustainable environ-
mental programs. The Champions for
Change award was presented to seven
organizations that have assisted
health care facilities in achieving the
national H2E goals and improving
their own environmental perfor-
mance.  The Making Medicine
Mercury Free Award is a one-time
award given to facilities that have vir-
tually eliminated mercury and devel-
oped policies to sustain the
elimination. It was presented to 25
organizations.
  In addition, the Partner Recognition
Award was presented to  25 H2E
Partners who have met their self-
identified H2E goals but have not
met the evaluation criteria for the
H2E Partners for Change Award. The
Partners for Change Award, which is
more specific and comprehensive,
was presented to 27 Partner facilities
that have initiated comprehensive
waste minimization and pollution
prevention programs in ways that are
measurable and sustainable, and con-
tribute to the goals of H2E.
                                   About H2E

                                     The primary goal of the H2E
                                   effort is to educate health care
                                   professionals about pollution
                                   prevention opportunities in hos-
                                   pitals and health care systems.
                                   The goal is achieved through sev-
                                   eral activities, including virtually
                                   eliminating mercury-containing
                                   waste from health care facilities,
                                   reducing overall volume of
                                   waste, and identifying hazardous
                                   substances for pollution preven-
                                   tion and waste reduction.
                                     The program offers two differ-
                                    ent ways to participate. Health
                                    care facilities, such as hospitals,
                                    can join through the Partners for
                                    Change Program. As Partners,
                                    facilities gain access to many
                                    tools to help guide pollution
                                    prevention activities. Organ-
                                    izations other than health care
                                    facilities that would like to assist
                                    the H2E effort can join the
                                    Champion Program. Champions
                                    encourage their members to join
                                    the H2E Program and strive to
                                    attain the program's goals.

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Cleaner Vehicle Production < Continued from page 1 >
releases in the United States. Batter-
ies represent one of the largest
sources of automotive lead. While
most lead-acid batteries are recycled,
battery manufacturing and recycling
operations in the United States still
discard thousands of tons of lead in
landfills every year.  The European
Union enacted a directive phasing
out most uses of lead, cadmium, and
hexavalent chromium in vehicles
entering the market as of July 2003
(see ).

Vinyl
  Vehicles often contain numerous
vinyl (also called PVC) components,
including cable and underbelly coat-
ings, instrument panels, and interior
and exterior trim. PVC typically con-
tains heavy metal stabilizers, which
sometimes include lead or cadmium.
When vehicles are dismantled, PVC
parts are often shredded and inciner-
ated, which can release these heavy
metals and, under certain combus-
tion conditions, contribute to dioxin
formation. (For commercial-scale
incinerators, chlorine levels in the
waste feed are not the dominant con-
trolling factor for rates of dioxin
stack emissions.  For uncontrolled
combustion, chlorine content of
wastes may play a more significant
role in affecting levels of dioxin emis-
sions than observed in commercial-
scale combustors.)

EPP Approaches
  Institutional vehicle purchasers
across the country are developing
and implementing bid specifications
that encourage automakers to elimi-
nate  mercury, lead, and other PBTs
from vehicles sold in the United
States.  In 2002, Minnesota put man-
ufacturers on notice that the state
intended to purchase only mercury-
free vehicles starting in 2005 and
would require immediate disclosure
of components containing mercury
or vinyl. In Fall 2003, Vermont
established a preference for mercury-
free models and  requires vendors to
disclose the mercury content of all
vehicular components. Numerous
other federal, state, and local agen-
cies are incorporating similar mer-
cury provisions and requiring lead
component disclosure as a precursor
to specifying lead-free vehicles in
the future.

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                                             ing  Electronics
                                   Products   in  Their  Place
     Ever wonder where your old computer is now?
     Was it sent to a landfill? Was it exported and
     dismantled to capture a few cents worth of cop-
per? Were parts of it reincarnated to help create a
newer, faster computer? Is someone else—a student
maybe—tapping away on the same keyboard your
fingers knew so well?
  Computers and electronics have quickly become
part of our daily lives, but many people are unaware
of how employers purchase these products and how
they eventually dispose of them. Yet the path of a
computer—from the time it is designed to when it
becomes obsolete a few years later—can have a dra-
matic effect on the environment.
  As one of the largest consumers of electronics prod-
ucts, the federal government has a unique opportunity
to set the pace for environmentally sound electronics
procurement and end-of-life management. And the
Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) is doing just
that. Launched in May 2003, the year-long pilot
phase is setting the stage for a purchasing and  end-
of-life challenge that will encourage environmentally
sound electronics management  at all federal facilities
and agencies.
  "Electronic products today are replaced so frequent-
ly that it is important to have a balanced electronics
management program. That is why the Challenge
encourages electronics management from beginning
to end, addressing the entire life cycle," said Charles
Johnson, Department of Defense (DOD) represent-
ative in the Office of the Federal Environmental
Executive (OFEE).
  The Challenge is open to all federal agencies and
facilities.  Partners will learn the importance of apply-
ing environmentally sound electronics management
throughout lifecycle stages—from the acquisition and
procurement of environmentally preferable products
to the operations and maintenance and end-of-life
management of those products.  After completing a
baseline survey, Partners will set realistic goals to
improve the management of their electronic assets
and will track their progress. Depending on their
commitment level and achievements, Partners can
qualify  for a bronze, silver, or gold award. The more
Partners do, the higher the recognition they will
receive, with Gold Partners receiving White House
recognition. Partners will also receive technical assis-
tance, networking opportunities, and additional tools
and resources as they work to reduce their environ-
mental  footprint.
  Recruitment for the FEC pilot phase is currently
underway and has already garnered interest from sev-
eral federal agencies. For more information about the
Challenge, or for details on how to participate in the
pilot phase,  contact Charles Johnson at
 or Christopher Kent at
202 564-  8842 or .
  FEC is currently sponsored by OFEE, EPA, DOD,
GSA, the Federal Network for Sustainability and pos-
sibly more agencies to come.

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What Makes Electronics So Special?
  Electronic products are made up of a combination of precious and other metals, engineered plastics,
glass, and other materials—all valuable resources that are thrown away without a second thought. Some
electronic products contain hazardous or toxic substances. Products containing cathode ray tubes, circuit
boards, batteries, and mercury switches can contain lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and some types
of flame retardants, which can pose serious environmental risks if not properly managed.

Get Involved!
Pilot Partners
  The FEC Steering Committee is targeting 15 facilities in Washington, DC, and the Great Lakes and West
Coast regions of the country for the pilot phase.

Stakeholders
  FEC welcomes information from the electronics industry, recyclers, and non-government organizations.
For more information on how you can become involved, visit .

Facts  & Figures
Fact 1: The federal government has an estimated 10,000 computers that become obsolete and must be dis-
carded each week—nearly 500,000 computers each year. (Source: Office of Management and Budget)
Fact 2: More than 20 million personal computers became obsolete in 1998. Only 13 percent were reused
or recycled. (Source: EPA, Electronic Reuse and Recycling, EPA530-N-00-007, October 2000)
Fact 3: Electronic products are made from valuable resources, all of which require energy to extract and
manufacture.  Many electronic products also contain parts that could be profitably refurbished and reused
with little effort.

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Need  a Vendor  List?  Check
Out the   EPP  Database
      Are you looking for "green" products?
      The EPP Database
       now provides a list of vendors
selling products that meet government and
third-party environmental performance stan-
dards and guidelines. For each product listed,
the database indicates whether the environ-
mental claims for the product have been
checked by an independent third party.
  Other recent changes to the EPP Database
include the following:
• To facilitate compliance with Executive
  Order (EO) 13149, Greening the Government
  through Federal Fleet and Transportation
  Efficiency, three sections of the EPP Database
  have been consolidated into a Fleets aisle
  and a Fleet Maintenance aisle. This restruc-
  turing will help purchasers find specifica-
  tions, contract language examples, and
  vendor lists for high fuel economy vehicles,
  re-refined oil, biobased motor vehicle prod-
  ucts, and other items required by the EO.
• New links include: Specifications created by
  Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) for ver-
  ifying environmental claims of biodegrad-
  ability recycled and recovered content, and
  no volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  ; the
  Pennsylvania Green Building Operations
  and Maintenance Manual
  ,
  created with assistance from Green Seal; and
  links to vendors of biobased products com-
  piled by the United Soybean Board
  .
• To make the database more user-friendly
  each aisle  of products now provides separate
  sections for specifications, contract language,
  vendor lists, and additional information
  instead of all being combined together on
  one page.
  Most of the changes to the EPP Database are
initiated by users. Government purchasers and
other interested parties are encouraged to pro-
vide suggestions for database improvements to
Jesse Eaves at 202 564-8867 or
. Please let Jesse know  of
URLs linking to green contracts or contract lan-
guage as well.
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Greening  the Government

Conference: A  Model  and

A  Message

  If you've had any doubts concerning the government's efforts to green its oper-
  ations and facilities, you'd better think again. "Greening the Government: A
  Sustainability Conference for Government Officials," held in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, proves that sustainability efforts and environmental awareness on
the part of government agencies are alive and kicking. This was evident not only
by the information presented, but also by the commitment to making the con-
ference itself as green as possible (see sidebar).
  The conference, held June 4 to 6, 2003, was developed and hosted by EPA
Regions 1,2, and 3 and the Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association
(NEWMOA). More than 125  attendees, representing multiple federal and state
government agencies from Maine to Virginia, were treated to a keynote speech
by William McDonough, an internationally recognized sustainable designer.
McDonough is the only individual to receive the Presidential Award for
Sustainable Development—the nation's highest environmental honor. Festivities
continued with speeches by John Howard, the Federal Environmental
Executive, and Richard Lemley of EPAfe Office of Administration and Resources
Management.
  Some of the topics covered at the conference included the following:
•  Green building tools and resources
•  Buying green
•  Green meetings
•  Green e-procurement
•  Purchasing green electronics
•  Healthy indoor environments
•  Energy conservation
•  Water conservation
•  Beneficial landscaping
•  Implementing pollution prevention through environmental management
   systems
•  Green cleaning
•  Alternative fuels/alternatively fueled vehicles
•  Green cafeterias
•  Establishing a green infrastructure
  Conference organizers hope that the interactive  exchange of thoughts and
ideas that occurred during the conference will spur the development of a
Federal Network for Sustainability (FNS) for the East Coast, in coordination
with the West Coast's FNS.
  For more information about the conference, contact Russell Clark at
 or Jesse  Eaves at .
Green Conference
in Practice

  To further demonstrate their
commitment to environmental
stewardship and sustainable
practices, EPA and NEWMOA
held the conference at the
Sheraton Rittenhouse Square
Hotel—the first Green Seal
certified "green" hotel in the
nation and the first hotel in
Pennsylvania to purchase wind
power. Some of the many envi-
ronmental attributes  exhibited
by the hotel include:
• Energy efficient lighting.
• A "water wall" that brings
  humidity into the  lobby on
  dry days.
• A bamboo garden in lobby
  that oxygenates air.
•  100 percent organic cotton
  linens.
• Non-toxic detergents.
• A high-tech air filtration sys-
  tem.
• Reduced off-gassing of toxic
  chemicals .
  Conference organizers struck
a deal with Amtrak to encour-
age attendees to use public
transportation. In addition, to
reduce paper use and waste, the
conference did not distribute
hard copies of presentations.

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CPG Indicator Items
Will
Toner cartridges
Cement and concrete
Landscaping timbers
  and posts
Park benches and
  picnic tables
Traffic barricades
Re-refined oil
Signage
                                 Agencies   Staying  on  Track
      Do you know how much your
      agency spent on recycled-
      content products last year?
You should. Not only are federal
agencies required by the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) and Executive Order (EO)
13101 to purchase certain products
containing recovered materials, but
they are also required to track and
report their annual purchases of
these EPA-designated items.
Procuring agencies are required  to
report to the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the
Office of the Federal Environmental
Executive (OFEE), which compiles a
report to submit to the  President.
The next reports are  due by March
15, 2004 and should cover the per-
cent of CPG products bought by
your agency between September 30,
2002 and October 1, 2003. In addi-
tion to OFEE's report, OFPP is
required by RCRA to report to
Congress every 2 years  on the actions
taken by federal agencies to imple-
ment the statute.
  Many federal agencies, however,
have encountered obstacles in report-
ing the required information. They
have found that the requirement is
overly burdensome and costly
because the requested information is
difficult to capture. Prior to 2002,
the Federal Procurement Data System
(FPDS)—a central repository of sta-
tistical information on federal con-
tracting—included only information
on federal purchases in contracts
greater than $25,000. Starting in
2002,  FPDS started including infor-
mation on the procurement of EPA-
designated products specifically,
although still only those purchased
in contracts greater than $25,000.
Information can be captured for
products procured through GSA
Advantage!, but not for those prod-
ucts procured through GSAs
Schedule System. Another issue is
tracking micropurchases—purchases
under $2,500—made by employees
who hold government purchase
cards.
  To address these concerns, OFEE
and OFPP formed an interagency
workgroup to examine methods of
streamlining the current reporting
format. The workgroup agreed that
the reporting requirements should
take on less of a bean-counting
approach and more of a basic
accountability or auditing focus. In
an effort to reduce the reporting bur-
den on federal agencies, the work-
group selected an "indicator" item
from  each of the eight "buy-recycled"
product categories (see sidebar) to
get a  general sense of how well agen-
cies are complying with the require-
ments of RCRA and EO 13101.
According to Dana Arnold of OFEE,
the data reported in FDPS for these
items for 2002 still do not capture
the whole picture. She admits, how-
ever,  that a learning curve is to be
expected, and OFEE will be working
on some training programs to
improve future reporting.
  For more information on RCRA
CPG  reports, contact Dana Arnold of
OFEE at  or
Cyndi Vallina of OFPP at
.
10

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   The six largest federal procuring agencies—Department of Defense  (DOD),
Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), and Department of Health and Human Services  (HHS)—account
for more than 85  percent of annual federal expenditures.
    Some agencies have taken their reporting
  requirements quite seriously. They have developed
  their own systems to more accurately collect and
  report the required buy-recycled information.
    DOE began its department-wide reporting efforts
  in 1993 by distributing report questions on com-
  puter disks to DOE sites across the country.
  Through reporting year FY 1996, these disks were
  mailed back and forth. By FY 1997, however, DOE
  was ready to launch its new automated Internet-
  based RCRA/EO 13101 Reporting System. The sys-
  tem has been up and running for 5 years now, with
  modifications made each summer and as needed to
  incorporate newly designated EPA products.
    According to Mark Huffman, a DOE contractor
  who helps maintain the reporting system, each of
  the approximately 60 DOE sites has a designated
  "green acquisition advocate"—typically a contrac-
  tor hired specifically for this position. At  the end of
  each fiscal year, the green acquisition advocate at
  each site begins entering the amount of EPA-
  designated items purchased that year, the percent
  purchased with recycled content, and any reasons
  why the items were not purchased with recycled
  content. The data entry is completed by mid-
  December, and a report compiling data from all
  DOE sites is prepared and submitted to OFEE by
  March.
    According to Huffman, the system has several
  distinct advantages. First, the  people in charge of
the system are able to review the data in a real-
time scenario as it is being entered by the various
DOE sites. Therefore, if a site is negligent in enter-
ing data at the end of the fiscal year, someone can
contact personnel at the site to remind them of
their reporting responsibilities. A second advantage
is that, since the database is populated in real time,
Headquarters can review data for accuracy as it is
entered. Recently, DOE provided its tracking tool
to  EPA for the Agency's use in fulfilling its report-
ing requirements.
 NASA has also made it easier to track and report
on environmental information. The NASA
Environmental Tracking System (NETS) is an
agency-wide database for reporting on purchases of
EPA-designated products as well as other data.
NETS has improved NASAfe reporting by standard-
izing data and enforcing adherence to specific vali-
dation criteria, reducing time required to collect
and summarize the data, and minimizing turn-
around time for the submission of data from NASA
facilities. NETS also has a similar feature to the
DOE system, in that it allows for near real-time
report generation and data analysis. NETS includes
help desk support for users, a user guide for data
entry instructions, a data dictionary, and online
assistance.
 In the future, these reporting systems could poten-
tially be capable of tracking  other environmentally
preferable purchases, such as biobased products.


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Pollution Prevention and Toxics
(7409 M)

EPA742-N-04-001

www.epa.gov/oppt/epp
January 2004
                         EMSs  Take  Center  Stage
                             Reducing operating costs and
                             improving overall environmental
                             performance are goals that many
                         organizations strive to achieve.
                         Implementing Environmental
                         Management Systems (EMSs)—
                         programs that integrate envi-
                         ronmental considerations
                         into day-to-day deci-
                         sions and practices—
                         can help
                         organizations
                         meet these
                         objec-
                         tives.
2DOS
To take advantage of the benefits that
EMSs can offer the public sector, the
President issued Executive Order (EO)
13148, "Greening the Government
Through Leadership in Environmental
Management," which requires all federal
agencies to implement EMSs by the end
of 2005.
  One of the key ways that federal
agencies can improve their environmen-
tal performance is by buying environ-
mentally preferable products and
services. The EO 13148 requirement
presents a perfect opportunity for agen-
cies to integrate EPP into their EMSs.
To assist agencies in doing just that,
EPA is compiling a set of examples of
ways federal agencies are incorporating
EPP into their EMSs. For more informa-
tion or to provide input to this effort,
contact Holly Elwood at
.
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