Greentailing

Greentailing
The power of purchase
November 24, 2009

When was the last time you looked at your dollar as a vote? A time when you used the power of purchase to support a product or service, because it carried a value beyond its operating and performance needs? Oftentimes, we are numb to the impact our purchasing decisions have down- and upstream, but in the era of sustainability, how and what we buy is a huge part of the solution.

As consumers, we have just begun to strengthen our sustainability muscles and develop a “green filter” for the products we put on or into our bodies or bring into our homes. We now better understand the impacts of waste, chemicals and excessive energy and water use, and are consequently developing a new set of values that are affecting our purchasing behavior.

Let’s take the natural cleaner market, for example. In less than four years, the natural cleaner market has manifested into a $200 million dollar industry. Method, a new and upcoming player, has helped shape this industry, but it was Clorox and its launch of the Green Works brand that really spawned the market’s growth. With cleaners that sell at a 15 percent to 25 percent premium over traditional products, we have the pockets of validation that consumers’ values are beginning to change. Consumers are using their dollar and purchase habits as a way to contribute to sustainability.

So, what can the retail design industry glean from this?

The power of purchase goes beyond consumables. What about the thousands of goods that designers and manufacturers spec and budget for every day, such as shelving systems, display units, paneling, visual merchandising tools, lighting fixtures, resins, glues, paints, sealants, etc.? The sustainability progress we all have been talking about in the retail design industry may only be the next purchase away. The work ahead is knowing what to buy.

Countless emerging eco-labels and exaggerated claims have made green purchasing a challenge. But, if you pause and develop a green filter for product procurement that formalizes your sustainability values, you quickly enable responsible decision-making throughout your team and beyond, and open the door for great storytelling for key publics.

Unlike a competitive bid policy, green procurement filters are not uniform. Each green procurement policy has a unique strategy based upon the organization’s culture, purchasing trends, product and, in most cases, a specific project’s needs. Here are some common areas that are considered when developing a formal green filter (but the list goes on and on):

• Think regionally. Establish a preference for items that are sourced within a certain number of miles from the project. (LEED uses 500 miles.)
• Use recycled content and bio-based products everywhere you can.
• Purchase re-manufactured products whenever possible.
• Select systems that have a kit of parts and are designed for upgradeability.
• Work with suppliers that have a take-back program.
• Plan ahead to avoid expedited shipping.
• Task suppliers with helping evaluate current practices, as well as finding cost-effective and environmentally preferable products and services. If they aren’t interested, there are plenty of others that are willing to help.
• Look for ISO-certified 9001, as well as 14001-certified manufacturers.
• Research products that have completed a formal life cycle analysis (LCA), or, at the very least, have considered a life-cycle approach.
• Seek products that have achieved third-party certification. Not a requirement, but an easy, yet sometimes costly, way to validate sustainable claims.
• Demand environmental declarations from suppliers to understand all chemicals and impacts of the products.

Sustainability doesn’t have to be an impossible feat; rather, it can begin immediately by making responsible decisions in the way you purchase and select your vendors today.

When a project is complete, it is a sum of all its parts. Imagine then, the impact if designer, supplier and manufacturer alike made responsible decisions throughout the “food chain” of project design, installation and construction—we’d have nothing but portfolios full of greener projects! That said, seek out your green partners.
I encourage anyone that reads this column, who also controls a budget of any size, to incorporate just one of the green filter checks noted above in your next purchase and/or partner decision. If only we could track the collective impact of just this readership and that small task, we’d be astounded at the results.

Cheers,

Justin Doak
Founder, Ecoxera – Green Business Strategy for Retail
Send questions about green procurement programs to justindoak@ecoxera.com.