Mid-Atlantic Member Meeting on Green Procurement

On February 27th, the Mid-Atlantic members of Corporate United were hosted by Sallie Mae at their Reston, Virginia headquarters for a meeting on “Green Procurement.” After an overview of green procurement, the group learned about incorporating “green” criteria into the category offerings of Corporate United. As shown by the green procurement cycle, the initial targets should be the “win-win” opportunities that offer both environmental and economic benefits. The group then had the pleasure of presentations from Chris O’Brien, Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network and Amy Goldman, Director of the Global Environmental Management Initiative.  
 

The Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) provides resources for executing green procurement in a variety of areas. Their purchasing guides cover a wide range of goods and services including lighting, office electronics, paint and fleet, among others.  Each guide goes in depth on the full range of issues around green procurement. RPN guides are directly accessible for a minimal cost at www.responsiblepurchasing.org.

The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. with tools and strategies to help businesses foster global environmental, health and safety excellence and economic success. Several of GEMI’s tools and publications are available free of charge at www.gemi.org. One such tool is the GEMI Business and Climate web tool, which helps companies assess the most appropriate ways to address climate change-related emission reductions and reduce energy consumption.

The meeting was an excellent overview of green procurement and an introduction to two valuable resources on the subject from the Mid-Atlantic area.  For more details on the event, contact Charles Davlin.