Definitions
- Agricultural Bio-Based Products: Non-food industrial products from agricultural crops excluding forestry
- Buyer: Authorized government purchase agent
- Contractor: Any entity with a contract for goods/services with the agency
- Ecolabelling: International practice identifying products with lower environmental impacts across life cycle
- Environmentally-preferable: Products/services reducing harm to health/environment over alternatives
- Green Procurement: Selecting products/services minimizing negative environmental impact
- Green Products: Produced with less resource consumption, less hazardous content and energy use
- Practicable: Available, reasonably priced, meeting performance standards
- Recyclable Product: Divertable from solid waste to raw materials for manufacturing
- Recycled Product: Contains recycled material
- Recovered Material: Diverted solid waste used as raw material
- Post-consumer/pre-consumer Recovered Materials: Materials generated after/before consumer use
- Re-use: Using materials without altering physical/chemical properties
- Re-used Product: Designed for multiple uses with minor maintenance
- Remanufactured Product: Refurbished from discarded materials without substantial alteration
Environmental Criteria for Product Selection
- Preference for recyclable/reusable products and packaging
- Durability and repairability prioritized
- Products reducing toxicity and emissions preferred
- Biodegradable and compostable products favored
- Life cycle costs and environmental impacts considered
Specifications and Requirements
- Preference for recycled-content products, especially white copy paper with ≥30% post-consumer content
- Waste-preventive products: high-quality, durable, refillable
- Use of reused/remanufactured products encouraged
- Purchasing bulk to reduce packaging
- Energy and water-saving products with updated efficiency
- Toxicity and pollution reduction: restriction on carcinogens, phased out CFCs, biodegradable surfactants, low VOCs, low formaldehyde
- Avoidance of products contributing to dioxin/furan formation
- Substitutes encouraged for lead/mercury-containing products
- Replacement vehicles encouraged to use less-polluting alternatives
- Encouragement of agricultural bio-based products in fuels and materials
Supplier Incentives
- Preference given to eco-labeled products
- Recycled products given consideration without price preference over virgin if prices unavailable
- Preference for highest post-consumer recycled content products meeting quality and price criteria
Promoting Environmentally Informed Culture
- Replace disposables with reusable/recyclable
- Support eco-label buying
- Consider life cycle cost-benefit analysis
- Evaluate vendor environmental performance
- Encourage competitive environmentally-preferable offerings
- Consider environmental impacts in service delivery
- Comply with all environmental laws in procurement
- Conduct committee meetings to monitor progress
- Provide staff training and information on environmental issues
Implementation Responsibilities
DOST Agencies
- Coordinate implementation with relevant units, appoint Green Procurement Coordinator
- Require contractors to use environment-friendly products
- Publicize green procurement policy
- Require certification of environmental claims in bids
- Encourage vendor compliance
- Prefer vendors adhering to policy in bids for services
- Justify alternate non-environmentally preferable product choices
Purchasing Divisions/Units
- Maintain info on environmentally-preferable products
- Inform stakeholders of responsibilities
- Include recycled material in bid specifications
- Disseminate product requirements
- Ensure contracts require environmentally preferable products
- Require certification of recycled content in products
- Establish procurement guidelines covering recycling, conservation, life cycle costing
- Communicate with Green Procurement Coordinator
- Report purchases and implementation progress annually
Environmental Division
- Provide training and assist product evaluation
- Support policy and criteria establishment
- Evaluate product environmental preferences
- Ensure contracts include environment-friendly product requirements
- Promote awareness and use of green products
Monitoring and Reporting
- Establish procedures to sustain the Green Procurement Program
- Annual status reports by Purchasing/Environmental Divisions and Green Procurement Committee detailing:
- Types, quantities, cost of products purchased
- Instances of policy waiver or impracticability
- Barriers to procurement of green products
Effectivity
- Policy effective December 01, 2004
- Signed by Secretary Dr. Estrella F. Alabastro on December 22, 2004