Official language
Many buildings develop recycling and waste management strategies while unaware of the important, complementary role that green purchasing plays. A green purchasing strategy can be integral for achieving high levels of waste diversion by ensuring most materials that come through the building match the recycling collection and diversion process. Additionally, recycling becomes more viable and cost effective when there is a robust market for products derived from recycled content.
This best practice is intended to support the elimination of adverse environmental effects caused by products and materials acquired for the normal operations of the business by helping building operators evaluate their purchasing practices and transition to green product options where possible.
Objective
Create and implement a procurement policy that prioritizes products and materials with environmentally-preferrable attributes.
Submittal Requirements
The following are the required submittals in order to fulfill the objective of this best practice.
-
Written purchasing guidelines summarizing sustainable purchasing criteria and strategies of products and materials purchased for the normal, day-to-day, operations of the building or tenant-controlled space. Purchasing guidelines must, at minimum, include the following:
- Purpose: clear statement of why the policy exists and how it will support the overall sustainability goals of the organization.
- Start Date: date the policy goes into effect.
- Scope: activities covered by the policy.
- Goals: intended outcomes of the policy.
- Responsible Parties: person(s) or department(s) responsible for implementing certain sections of the policy.
- Guidelines: procedures to implement the policy.
- Strategies: methods or techniques used to enhance implementation of the policy.
- Performance Metrics: procedures on quantifying the policy’s success.
- Tracking: method of monitoring the success of the policy.
- Continual Improvement: process for promoting and implementing ongoing improvements to the policy.
Implementation Guidance
For additional details and recommended steps for implementing this best practice, please see the BIT Building Program Manual.
BIT User’s viewpoint
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Frequently asked questions
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Online resources
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Implementation toolkit
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Many buildings develop recycling and waste management strategies while unaware of the important, complementary role that green purchasing plays. A green purchasing strategy can be integral for achieving high levels of waste diversion by ensuring most materials that come through the building match the recycling collection and diversion process. Additionally, recycling becomes more viable and cost effective when there is a robust market for products derived from recycled content.
This best practice is intended to support the elimination of adverse environmental effects caused by products and materials acquired for the normal operations of the business by helping building operators evaluate their purchasing practices and transition to green product options where possible.
Objective
Create and implement a procurement policy that prioritizes products and materials with environmentally-preferrable attributes.
Implementation Requirements
For additional details and recommended steps for implementing this best practice, please see the BIT Building Program Manual.
Submittal Requirements
The following are the required submittals in order to fulfill the objective of this best practice.
-
Written purchasing guidelines summarizing sustainable purchasing criteria and strategies of products and materials purchased for the normal, day-to-day, operations of the building or tenant-controlled space. Purchasing guidelines must, at minimum, include the following:
- Purpose: clear statement of why the policy exists and how it will support the overall sustainability goals of the organization.
- Start Date: date the policy goes into effect.
- Scope: activities covered by the policy.
- Goals: intended outcomes of the policy.
- Responsible Parties: person(s) or department(s) responsible for implementing certain sections of the policy.
- Guidelines: procedures to implement the policy.
- Strategies: methods or techniques used to enhance implementation of the policy.
- Performance Metrics: procedures on quantifying the policy’s success.
- Tracking: method of monitoring the success of the policy.
- Continual Improvement: process for promoting and implementing ongoing improvements to the policy.
Log in for full access to BIT User
To join the conversation and access BIT Building’s resources, sign up here!
If you already have a BIT account, sign in now.
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