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PurchasingPolicieswhichcontinuetosavemoney,reducewaste,conservevaluableresources, <br />reducegreenhousegassesandmaintainworkersafety. <br />TheCityofSanFranciscohaslongappliedenvironmentalcriteriatotheirpurchasing,but <br />recentlyputanordinanceinplacethatdirectstheirstafftoapplyevenmorestringentstandards. <br />In2001,theDepartmentoftheEnvironment(SFE)beganatwo-yearprocessthatengagedthe <br />communityinanexaminationofthePrecautionaryPrinciple.Sincethen,theyhavedecidedto <br />applytheprincipletotheCity?s$600millionworthofgoodsandservicespurchasedonayearly <br />basiswiththegoalofprotectingtheirworkersandcitizens?healthandspurringthemarketfor <br />alternativeproducts.Eventually,theSFEwouldliketohelpresidentsaccessthosealternative <br />productsaswell. <br />?ThekeytoSanFrancisco?simplementationofthePrecautionaryPrincipleistheAlternatives <br />Assessment.Ineachcaseweperformedanin-depthanalysisusingcriteriabasedonthethree- <br />leggedstoolofhumanhealth,environmental,andeconomicfactorstocomparepotential <br />alternativeswiththeideaofselectingthealternativeresultingintheleastharm.Wehave <br />appliedthisapproachto:pesticides,arsenictreatedwood,alternativefuelvehicles,andcustodial <br />39 <br />products.? <br />TheCityestimatesthatusinggreencleanerswillsave$95percustodianonayearlybasisand <br />thatcompactlightshavea2-4monthpaybackperiod.Theyfoundsimilarpricing <br />for13outof14productsthattheytestedfortheenvironmentallypreferablealternativesas <br />comparedtothestandard.TheyfoundthatKingCounty,Washingtonsaved$600,000in2003 <br />40 <br />usingenvironmentallypreferableproducts. <br />Formoreinformationsee <br />SFEPurchasingPilotProgramathttp://www.sfenvironment.com/aboutus/innovative/epp/ <br />purchasing.htm <br />NWPollutionPreventionResourceCenter(PPRC)?sreportbyBethLiddell: <br />?EnvironmentallyPreferablePurchasing(EPP)ProgramsandStrategies:Integrating <br />EnvironmentalandSocialFactorsintoProcurementPractices?athttp://www.pprc.org/pubs/ <br />epp/EPP_programs_and_strategies.pdf <br />Portlandhasprotectedsurroundingfarmsandopenspacebynewdevelopmentsontohalf <br />theusuallandarea,makingitasmart-growthpioneer--andoneofthemostlivableplacesinthe <br />country.Themajorcitytotackleglobalwarming,theCitygovernmentofPortlandcreates <br />lessgreenhousegasesthanitdid15yearsago,whilesaving$2millionannuallyonCityenergy <br />bills--andattractingnewbusinesswithitsexpertise.Itsgreen-buildingstandardsarethe <br />toughestinthenation. <br /> <br />