Purchasing For Green Hotels

Purchasing For Green Hotels

Solutions for Revenue, Health and Communication Heidi Siegelbaum Steve Gersman

In 20 minutes…

• The Story of Stuff • What is Green Purchasing • Product Categories • Standards and Certification • Benefits • The Process • Where to Go for Help

What is Purchasing Really About?

THE STORY OF STUFF • http://www.storyofstuff.com

• This is the story of everything your hotel buys. That story?

• Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption and Disposal

Production of Stuff includes People

• Along the way of making products or “stuff”, we affect societies, cultures, environment and people • We live in a finite planet which means the resources are not endless and will in fact run out if not managed for long term use • Drinking water and food are great examples

Changing The Face of Production

What is Green Purchasing?

• Environmentally Preferable

Purchasing

Purchasing products and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose

Drivers

• Reduce costs, increase profit • Reduce storage and handling • Reduce worker risks and liabilities • Respond to guest interests in your green practices • Help protect local environment • Marketing differentiation • Improve associate and guest health • Reduce environmental impacts overall

Product Categories

• Office supplies: all paper, office equipment • F&B: electronics, kitchen equipment, and food • Hotel wide: Lighting, carpets, interior design elements, cleaning products • Rooms: bedding, furniture, drapes, amenities

Getting Started

Ideally, a green purchasing strategy should fit into an overall environmental management plan– otherwise, choices tend to be opportunistic or champion driven

Steps

1. Create a baseline- what are you purchasing now. Who is involved and how are decisions made?

2. Determine objectives and priorities and draft a purchasing policy 3. Form a cross-department team with dedicated lead 4. Look at existing lists 5. Pilot test products with users

Barriers

• Habit- people don’t like change • Product love- users develop unusually strong commitments to certain products they don’t want to give up • No user testing of new green products • Supplier love- your suppliers may feel threatened and you really like your suppliers • Perception: green products don’t perform or are tacky

Greenwashing

• Misleading claims by sellers or manufacturers about the green attributes of product or service • You are particularly vulnerable: early stages of innovation, green explosion of products and you know what else

Six Sins of Greenwashing

A Terrachoice 2007 Report revealed that most products didn’t live up to their green claims. • No Proof • Irrelevance • Fibbing • Hidden Trade-Off • Vagueness • Lesser of Two Evils

Criteria

• Less toxic • Recycled content and recyclable locally • Remanufactured or reconditioned • Durable with warranties • Energy efficient • Water efficient • Take back potential • Biobased • Reduced life cycle impacts

Standards and Certification Orgs

• EPA: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program (Comprehensive Purchasing Guidelines), Energy Star and Design for Environment • GreenSeal • EcoLogo • Responsible Purchasing

Performance Standards Orgs

• National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) • ASTM International • ISO • Scientific Certification Systems • Master Painters Institute

Local Help

Seattle www.seattle.gov/environment/purchasing.htm

King County www.metrokc.gov/procure/green Ecology www.ecy.wa.gov/beyondwaste/epp/stand_certifications.html

Product Specific Criteria

• Electronics: EPEAT • Green Building Products: US Green Building Council • Forest Products: Forest Stewardship Council • Recycled Content Products: EPA’s CPG • Food: Organic Trade Association • Low Emission: Greenguard

Priority: Electronics

• Loaded with the nasties: mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, PVCs • Planned obsolescence • Exploding number of gadgets/upgrades • Many recyclers export it as a product with value but it’s really electronic trash

Electronics In Context

Environmentally Preferable Electronics Assessment Tool:

www.epeat.net

Northwest Product Stewardship Council

www.productstewardship.net

Electronics Take back Coalition

www.computertakeback.com

Basel Action Network

www.ban.org

Cleaning Chemicals: Priority

• Indoor air quality- corrosive chemicals, solvents, asthmagens • Chemicals in products very poorly regulated - most chemicals used in products and personal care products have never been tested • Raises workmen’s compensation and liability issues

Energy Star Calculator

www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bulk_purchasing.bus_purchasing

This tool covers commercial appliances, foodservice, heating & cooling, lighting, electronics, office products and construction products

Building Tools and Programs

Seattle Green Building Program

www.seattle.gov/dpd/greenbuilding

BEES

www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/software/bees

Building Energy Software Tools Directory

www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/tools_directory/s ubjects_sub.cfm

Whole Building Design Guide Tools Index

www.wbdg.org/tools/tools.php

Paper tools

Paper Calculator

http://www.edf.org/papercalculator.org

Paper Choices

www.conservatree.org

Forest Stewardship Council:

www.fscus.org

Carpets

Spanking brand new standard

National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) 140-1007 (low VOCs, recycled content)

Other Subjects

Cleaning

www.ofee.gov

& www.ewg.org

Paper

www.edf.org/papercalculator

Renewable Energy

www.green-e.org

Low Emissions Products

www.greenguard.org

Sleeping Lady

• Office supplies purchased through Corporate Express • GreenSeal, Energy Star, and Green Hotel Association used to identify products • Local, wild, hormone free and organic food served where possible • Compostable disposable cups

Sleeping Lady

• Indoor Air quality and Health: Furniture is low VOC, easily upholstered and solvent/formaldehyde free • All natural latex foam, jutte webbing, formaldehyde free stains and FSC wood among other • Some of their practices qualify for LEED points as well

The Umbrella Tells All

Life cycle and consumption: THE STORY OF STUFF (FAB) www.storyofstuff.com

Gracious Thanks

• EcoLogo- Scot Case • Ecology EPP program- Tina Smimich • King County Procurement- Karen Hamilton • Pacific NW Pollution Prevention Resource Center • King County/Seattle Public Health- Tracee Mayfield • Responsible Purchasing • Seattle Sustainable Purchasing- Shirli Axelrod • Sleeping Lady, Rebecca Darley

Thank you!

Cascadia Sustainable Tourism [email protected]

(206) 784-4265 [email protected]

(425) 922-0102