The Hennepin County Board has set policies and goals for the county to lead by example in the areas of Integrated Vegetation and Pest Management (IPM), toxicity and waste reduction, recycling, and environmentally preferable purchasing. By being good environmental stewards in the way we conduct our day-to-day operations, the county can set a positive example for our businesses and residents.

Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN) is an international network of buyers dedicated to socially responsible and environmentally sustainable purchasing. Membership program and consulting services provide institutional purchasers with cutting edge procurement tools and resources designed to save money, conserve resources, reduce waste, and improve efficiency.

Protecting the environment for the benefit of future generations is always in the public's interest. For that reason, Mecklenburg County officials have for many years tracked the state of the environment, acknowledged that intervention is necessary in the face of rapid growth, and taken actions to protect natural resources.

The Cobb County Purchasing Department procures materials, supplies, equipment, and services for all County departments. One of their primary goals is to maintain maximum dollar savings while ensuring required levels of quality. The Purchasing Department strives to treat vendors and contractors equitably and fairly by promoting competitive marketing through solicitation of quotations, bids, and proposals. Purchasing strives to bring the greatest value to Cobb County with integrity and honesty. This division provides assistance to the County Manager and the Board of Commissioners in securing procurements and future planning for Cobb County.

The Green Purchasing Program (GPP) is the City's commitment to promoting environmental stewardship and reducing greenhouse gas emissions when buying goods, materials, services, and capital improvements. The GPP is a cooperative effort among City Departments, hosted by City Purchasing (Purchasing Services Section, of the Purchasing and Contracting Services Division for the Department of Executive Administration). Representatives from Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Parks Department, Seattle Department of Transportation, and other key departments serve as the “Green Team."

Launched in 2007, the NACo Green Government Initiative provides comprehensive resources for local governments on all things green, including energy, air quality, transportation, water quality, land use, purchasing and recycling. NACo serves as a catalyst between local governments and the private sector to facilitate green government best practices, products and policies that result in financial and environmental savings.

Los Angeles County are leaders in environmentally preferable purchasing.

In 2002 the City of Portland City Council passed the Sustainable Procurement Strategy, which is an effort to spend public funds on goods and services that minimize negative environmental impacts, are fair and socially just, and make economic sense, now and in the long term. The Sustainable Procurement Strategy compliments and builds on many other environmental and social programs in the City. Click here for a summary brochure about our sustainable procurement program and follow the links below for more information and resources.

To set a road map for making Minneapolis truly sustainable, the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Rybak started integrating sustainability principles into City decision making. The Sustainability Initiative was formulated to spur action, track results and better coordinate activities throughout the City. Here is an overview of some key City Council actions.

King County’s Environmental Purchasing Policy reflects a long-term commitment to the purchase of environmentally preferable products. In 1989, King County adopted its original recycled product procurement policy in response to overburdened landfills and the need to create markets for newly collected recyclables. The policy was expanded in 1995 to include other environmentally preferable products. Because every purchase has an impact on human health and the environment, the goal of policy is to mitigate these impacts whenever practicable. Environmentally preferable procurement considers multiple product attributes, such as toxicity, durability, emissions, recycled content and conservation of resources, in addition to price, performance and availability.

NIGP’s Green Knowledge Community is established to bring together subject matter experts and practitioners to develop, disseminate and promote information and resources for and about policy development, environmentally preferable products, and social and economic responsibility in public procurement. The community works to raise awareness and inspire others to think about, learn about, develop and promote their own environmentally and socially thoughtful programs.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Center was launched on February 20, 2007 in recognition of an increasingly urgent need to provide mayors with the guidance and assistance they need to lead their cities’ efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are linked to climate change. Throughout the nation there is clear evidence that mayoral leadership is producing business and community support for policies that reduce emissions. While progress is already being made in many cities, our goal must be to increase the number of cities involved in the effort, and to equip all cities with the knowledge and tools that ultimately will have the greatest impact on undo the causes of global warming.

The state has set ambitious goals to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020, and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Strong state goals require effective local action. The California Climate Action Network was formed to help California communities play a leadership role both to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare for the consequences of climate change.

The North American Green Purchasing Initiative (NAGPI) Steering Committee is made up of major groups and agencies working with green purchasing in North America.