The goal of environmentally preferable purchasing is to purchase products that are beneficial to human health and the environment. The tools below can help to identify candidate products, programs and policy initiatives toward this objective.
If you have questions or comments, contact the Environmental Purchasing Program at (206)263-9294 or e-mail epp@kingcounty.gov
Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) A list of products that must contain recycled content when purchased by federal agencies and those that use appropriated federal funds
Federal Executive Order 13423(104KB, PDF) - Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management (2007) - Expand purchases of environmentally preferable goods and services, including biobased products.
EPEAT - Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool - EPEAT is a procurement tool to help institutional purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT is operated by the Green Electronics Council.
EcoLogo Program - Sets environmental standards and certifies products in more than 120 categories
ENERGY STAR - A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that promotes energy efficient products and practices. The label is on major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and more.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) - An international labeling program for forest products. FSC certifies that the product comes from a forest that meets internationally recognized standards.
GreenGuard - The mission of GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) operates third-party certification programs to indoor air quality.
Green Seal - This non-profit provides science-based environmental certification standards and certifies products that meet this standard for many product categories.
NSF/ANSI Standard 140-2007(79KB, PDF) - Multi-attribute American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for sustainable carpet. ANSI and NSF International are similar in that they are non-profits that set standards and certify products and focus on public health, safety and the environment.
Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) - SCS is a third-party provider of certification, auditing and testing services, and standards.
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT CALCULATORS
Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator - This calculator estimates the environmental and economic benefits of purchasing EPEAT-registered products, in addition to improvements in equipment operation and end-of-life management practices.
Fleet Emissions Calculator - The Puget Sound Green Fleets Guide offers a tool that calculates CO2 emissions and suggests reduction strategies.
Flexible Fuel Vehicle Calculator - Although flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) are typically available at the same prices as comparable gasoline vehicles, the cost of E85 fuel is higher. This tool developed by EERE calculates the cost of driving the selected vehicle, gallons of gasoline saved, and pounds of greenhouse gases saved by fueling with E85.
Green Cleaning Pollution Prevention Calculator - This calculator, developed by US EPA, quantifies the projected environmental benefits of purchasing and using "green" janitorial services and products.
HEV Cost Calculator - This calculator, developed by the US Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), allows fleets to compare the costs, benefits, and emissions of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) with those of conventional vehicles.
Paper Calculator - A web-based tool developed by Environmental Defense which compares the environmental impacts of papers made with different levels of recycled content, ranging from 0% (virgin paper) to 100%.
