Green Products Guide : Introduction

Introduction | Green Products Categories | Green Attribute Definitions | Contact Info

Introduction

The purpose of the Green Products Guide is to provide individuals, campus departments and the campus community with information highlighting what types of environmentally responsible products are available. The Guide addresses a variety of qualities that purchasers should request when ordering these products. Definitions are given for most of the green attributes listed in this guide. These will help explain what is important about each attribute, and help aid in the decision-making process when purchasing.

Why is purchasing green products important?
One of the main impacts CU has on the natural world is through the millions of dollars that the institution spends each year on purchasing products. By carefully choosing what we buy, we can use this purchasing power to encourage the development of environmentally responsible industries, rather than inadvertently paying for harmful practices. Therefore, purchasing green products is one of the most influential steps we can take as consumers to reduce our impact on the environment. Green products reduce daily energy consumption, are less toxic than other products, and they help in “closing the recycling loop” by using recycled materials to make new products. In addition, as demand increases for these products they become more competitive in price, quality and availability when compared to other alternatives.

What is included in the guide?
The guide is organized into six categories of products that are frequently purchased by individuals and departments on campus. They are as follows: Paper Products, Office Supplies, Office Equipment, Cleaning Products, Office Furniture, and Small Remodel Supplies.

Within each category, the following items are included:

• Brief summary of some of the environmental concerns when purchasing products for that particular category.
• Components—what specific products are in each category.
• Green Attributes—what qualifies products in the category as environmentally-friendly.
• Questions to Ask—sample questions to provide direction for buyers when looking for these products.
• Current Availability—can these products be found on campus?
• Sample Products—these are specific products we believe will continue to be offered through the university. Due to frequent changes among products and vendors, not all categories include this section.

The second part of this guide is a list of definitions for all of the bolded attributes in the Green Attributes section. On the last page is contact information for campus purchasing departments and more.

What is NOT included in this guide?
This guide does not include vendor names or many specific products, because both are apt to change frequently. However, the products you will find through university services (for example CU Bookstore, Printing and Copying, etc.) and on various contracts are offered because there has been consumer demand for them.

If you have questions about the availability of specific products, please refer to the contact information listed on the back page. If you would like to purchase a product, but find that it is not available, create consumer demand! Call the vendor or purchasing agent and request it.

We hope this will serve as a useful guideline when shopping for green products. Thank you for doing your part to protect the environment!