Overview/Goals/Recommendations
"Green purchasing" is the practice of preferentially procuring products
that minimize adverse environmental and health impacts; both the long- and short-term costs
associated with the full life cycle of the product are considered. Many “green” products are priced
competitively with their less environmentally friendly counterparts and are of comparable quality,
thereby eliminating the most justifiable reasons for not buying green. Goals are for the
administration to actively endorse “green purchasing” and for the administration to collaborate
with the ESC to promote and facilitate “green purchasing” throughout the university.
Based on these goals, the ESC makes the following recommendations:
1. Adopt a university policy promoting the use of recycled,
refurbished, and other green products. (MTU Administration)
2. Encourage the purchase of paper products with a significant post-consumer recycled content
as a demonstration of the above policy. (MTU Administration) The policy should reflect the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines
(www.epa.gov/cpg) that office paper have a minimum post-consumer
content of 30 percent.
3. Develop guide to purchasing green products that lists alternatives for common items and
promote the use of the guide, once approved, by all relevant purchasers (MTU Administration and ESC)
4. Document and publicize the use of environmentally preferable products on campus. (ESC) This
information will be posted on the ESC website and published in articles for Tech Today and
the Lode.
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If you have any questions on the recycling program at Michigan Tech: