What is Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP)?

The federal government defines environmentally preferable products as goods that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared to competing products that serve the same purpose. Environmentally preferable attributes include reduced toxicity, the use of recycled materials, and increased energy efficiency.

Determining what environmental criteria to consider when making a purchasing decision often depends on how far across a product's life cycle you are willing to evaluate, what information is available to help you define your criteria, and whether the product is available locally and at a reasonable price. For example, when comparing the life cycle of products you might consider:

• the raw material used to make the product (such as recycled or less toxic materials);
• how it was made (such as air and water emissions from the manufacturing process); and
• how it was designed to be disposed of (can it be recycled or reused).

Given the wide range of factors that influence the environmental impact of a product, decisions must be based on the best available information. Several government, non-profit, and private entities have begun to develop standards for various environmental attributes that can be helpful when writing bid specifications or trying to select products.

The state of Minnesota's central purchasing agency has gone through the process of identifying and selecting several environmentally preferable products. Public entities that belong to the state's cooperative purchasing venture program can access these products through state contracts and the state's office supply store.