Green Procurement Overview
“Procurement is one of the tools public authorities at all levels—as well as industry—can use to foster the demand for cleaner products and services. In the western world, it is estimated that governments alone consumer up to 15% of GNP, thereby having a significant potential to stimulate market demand…. Indeed government purchasers have an untapped power to create demand for cleaner products and services. And though a number of initiatives have been undertaken in various countries…much remains to be done.”
Everyday products and services are bought and sold fueling our supply and demand economy. Businesses spend millions of dollars researching purchasing trends in hopes of developing products that will be competitive in a marketplace saturated with thousands of different types of products. As such, governments, businesses, and individual consumers all have the ability to influence the market place by purchasing products that not only serve the desired purpose, but also have environmental and social benefits. The vast majority of people want an economy that provides the necessary goods and services without compromising our environment, health, and/or economic well being. The question is how do we use our purchasing power to get there?
