Green Purchasing Cooperative Program

The overall goal of this program is to develop, implement and sustain a Green Purchasing (GP) program at Rutgers University and organizations that share the University's green purchasing policy and priority (organizations that include but are not limited to universities, schools, cities, townships, counties or any other local government agency, public or private sector entity). This program was designed with the environment, supply chain, purchasing and waste stream integration as one cohesive system-thinking concept. In order to meet this overall goal the Rutgers Green Purchasing Program Management Team (Kevin Lyons and Magda Comeau - Rutgers Team) have developed a comprehensive green purchasing program as well as a green purchasing cooperative program.

The cooperative purchasing of equipment and materials is a means to help Rutgers , Municipalities, Schools and Organizations integrate green criteria into their contracts while saving money. The principle behind cooperative purchasing is that the more materials or equipment a group can purchase at one time, the less the unit price will be. The Rutgers University Purchasing Department has applied this concept to the procurement of 'green' or 'environmentally responsible' products and services. Selected New Jersey Municipalities can now utilize the Rutgers University 'Green' Purchasing Cooperative Purchasing contracts to purchase green products and services (in accordance with the Municipalities public bidding regulations and thresholds). Prior to the competitive bid process, the anticipated needs of the University as well as approximate quantities of local organizations and communities were considered and identified as potential buyers; the Purchasing Department sent competitive bids to prospective suppliers of green products, equipment, materials and services. The suppliers returned their bids and proposals based on the anticipated needs of the University and our cooperative purchasing community; in order to increase buying power, school districts and other institutions are invited to participate in the program. Contracts currently being extended: Recycled-Content Paper, Green Cleaning Chemicals & Custodial Maintenance Products, Bulk PC/Laptop Purchasing Program, and Biodiesel Fuel. Coming Soon: Long Distance VoIP, Emergency Notification Systems, Bulk Printer Purchasing Program, Recycled Plastic Bags, NJ State Green Contracts, and Green Furniture.

For more information on this pilot program, please contact Magda Comeau (mcomeau@rci.rutgers.edu).