Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Purchashing for Climate Protection

Monday, October 27 – 9am to 12pm
FREE morning workshop....

Snohomish County Campus
Robert J. Drewel Building
3000 Rockefeller, Everett, WA 98201

Executive Aaron Reardon is hosting a “Purchasing for Climate Protection” workshop. There is no
charge for the workshop and it is open to public and private sector purchasers and others who
are interested in environmentally responsible purchasing. This session will highlight specific actions government agencies and businesses can take to reduce their carbon footprint by changing their purchasing policies and practices.

These actions include, but are not limited to:
• Establishing energy-effi ciency standards for all lighting equipment, appliances and
computers used in their facilities;
• Improving the fuel-effi ciency ratings of their fl eets;
• Installing renewable energy technologies;
• Buying recycled-content and remanufactured products;
• Reducing paper and water consumption;
• Sourcing food and other goods from local producers; and
• Switching to concentrated “green” cleaners for offi ce buildings, schools and other buildings.

The presenter of this workshop is Alicia Culver, Executive Director of the Green Purchasing Institute, a nonprofi t organization that works directly with government agencies, businesses and institutions to develop sustainable purchasing policies as well as contracts for environmentally preferable goods and services. She has taken a leading role in
drafting model specifi cations for high-effi ciency/low-mercury lighting equipment for several states and localities, and helped several local governments develop purchasing chapters for their climate action plans. She has also convened a team of researchers to document the best purchasing practices for achieving and documenting greenhouse gas emissions associated with the procurement of goods and services. She has contributed to several related publications
including:

Buying Smart: Experiences of Green Purchasing Pioneers, Cleaning for Health; Products and Practices for a Safer Indoor Environment; and Responsible Purchasing Guide to Fluorescent Lighting. In addition, she has served as a technical advisor to the Washington State Department of Ecology, the City of Seattle and many other jurisdictions across the United States. Alicia is currently advising Snohomish County.

Please pre-register by sending your contact information and affiliation to
Ginger Metz at ginger.metz@snoco.org or calling 425.388.6483.

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