Sustainable Purchasing Policy
A sustainable purchasing policy is a set of business guidelines to ensure that all procurement abides by commonly defined best practices for sustainability. This is a great way to align multiple departments, agencies, consultants and new hires around your business’ sustainability goals and to ensure all future materials and products sourced by the business furthering your long-term positive impact.
Blue Action: Develop a sustainable purchasing policy and/or work with third party suppliers and vendors to achieve sustainability goals.
This includes training and integration into orientation materials, so all employees and new hires are made aware of this policy.
Components of a sustainable purchasing policy to include (this is not an exhaustive list):
Single-use plastic-free catering for corporate events.
Prioritizing the purchase of post-consumer recycled paper and paper products when available (identifying FSC-certified paper products as a second best choice).
Prioritizing products that are made from post-consumer or upcycled content (materials have been collected back from previous products and remade into new ones) such as paper and plastic products e.g. Paper clips, staplers and even UPS systems made with post-consumer content.
Non-toxic cleaning products.
Non-plastic and durable janitorial products.
Sustainably packaged vendor / client samples.
Plastic-free and durable office supplies (such as staple-less staplers and refillable pens).
LED or energy efficient light bulbs.
Repurposed or second-hand electronics.
Non-toxic inks and toners for printers.
CALL OUT:
Electronic Waste
E-waste is the fastest-growing domestic waste stream in the U.S. Americans generated 2.7 million tons of consumer electronics goods in 2018 and on a global scale, only about a fifth of all electronic waste is recycled, according to UNEP.org.
CALL OUT:
Sustainable Gifting
Provide your employees with sustainable swag, merchandise and holiday gifts rather than offering plastic items and gifts that are likely to end up as trash. Consider sustainable clothing made out of non-synthetic textiles, or durable and long-lasting items made from glass, wood, bamboo, or upcycled materials. Choose items your employees can use on a daily basis, such as reusable water bottles, cutlery kits, straws or natural cloth bags.