Buying for the Future

Despite the pledges made at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, little practical work has been done to create a more environmentally-friendly world. Kevin Lyon's achievement as Head of Purchasing for Rutgers University in the US, has been an exception. The size of a small town, the university has a population of over 70,000 staff and students, with a huge appetite for consuming everything from toxic chemicals to stationary. Lyon's challenge was how to maintain consumption, whilst at the same time reduce damage to the environment. In this practical book, he draws on his successful "greening" of Rutgers as a model to provide a how-to guide to responsible purchasing, extending his own experiences to cover European issues and conditions. He covers the key areas, including: purchasing policy design and implementation strategies; how to write environmentally-sensitive contracts; the relevance of environmental laws; the competitive bidding process; enforcing suppliers' environmental responsibilities; developing corporate leadership strategies; putting contractual enhancements into action; and developing national and international environmental partnerships. Supported by WWF-UK, EPA and the National Wildlife Foundation, this book aims to provide a useful manual for institutions, corporations and local and central governments.