July 28. 2010
___ Fortiani» (Observer
PageS
^ a r t í a n h (© b se ru e r
Sustainability / special
County asks Vendors to go ‘Green’
Supporting
healthy, local
communities
Less than a month into the imple
mentation o f its new Sustainable
Purchasing Policy, M ultnom ah
County reports favorable responses
from the local business community.
For purchases ranging from
h ealth serv ices to co m p u ters,
county buyers are raising the bar on
requirements that are good for the
environment and support healthy,
local communities.
A simple way to buy green prod
ucts is to purchase those that have
been certified environm entally
friendly.
Today when county needs to
make a buy decision on short no
tice, they can choose from nearly
100 eco-labeled products the county
already buys in bulk.
Sustainable public purchasing
means not only taking into consid
eration the environmental impact o f
the purchase, but the community
im pactas well.
Sophia C avilli, M ultnom ah
County’s procurement supervisor,
brings social equity to the table
when she utilizes minority, women,
and emerging small businesses.
“This is one o f the factors that
sets our policy apart regionally and
nationally,” she said. “That means
equal access for citizens to goods
and services that are healthier, as
well as equal opportunity for smaller
firms and M WESB suppliers to com
pete for county business.”
By launching a sustainable pur
chasing policy, Multnomah County
helps stimulate the demand for en
vironmentally friendly goods.
“Ten years ago, you had a hard
time finding eco-friendly packag
ing,” says Nancy Gruse o f Service
Paper, a Northwest distributor o f
packaging and paper products. “To
day we have an environmental spe-
4k *
L E P U R C H A S IN G
E P M ' ,1^ N O M A H
' I
Multnomah County’s Sophia Cavalli (from left), Jeff Cogen, and Kat West kick off a Sustainable
Purchasing Policy celebration.
cialist on our staff to help field ques-
tions on our earth-friendly prod-
uct-
Multnomah County reports fa-
vorable responses on the new policy
from the local business community,
F ° r purchases ranging from
h ealth serv ices to c o m p u ters,
county buyers are raising the bar on
requirements that are good for the
environment and support healthy,
local communities.
Multnomah County
Sustainable Purchasing
The possibilities are endless!
www.multcopurch.org
MULTNOMAH
COUNTY
I 1
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