BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: ELECTRONICS PURCHASING

Other Resources

Product Stewardship Institute

The Product Stewardship Institute, based at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, has organized a workgroup to assist with identifying the needs of procurement officials and provide input on the types of resources to address these needs. The workgroup consists of state and local government officials, EPA representatives and environmental groups. For more information, please visit: http://www.productstewardshipinstitute.org/EPP.html#Electronics

Third-Party Standards and Certifications

A number of voluntary purchasing standards and guidelines may be found at http://www.epa.gov/oppt/epp/database.htm. Included are Germany's Blue Angel, the European Union's Eco-Label, the Nordic Countries' Nordic Swan, and Sweden's TCO Development. Some purchasers have suggested that third-party certifications can work well as proxys for green specifications, rather than developing unique purchasing guidelines for green electronic equipment.

Northwest Product Stewardship Council's Guide to Environmentally Preferable Computer Purchasing

http://www.productstewardship.net/productsElectronicsEPPGuide.html

To encourage manufacturers to adopt Product Stewardship practices, the NWPSC work group has developed A Guide to Environmentally Preferable Computer Purchasing. The Guide provides suggestions that will help buyers include product stewardship principles in purchasing criteria and bids. Let the manufacturers know that you want environmentally friendly options by speaking with your dollars. The Council has also summarized the various environmental labeling programs for computer equipment. Many of these labels can be used to determine if the equipment is environmentally friendly.