By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Italy was the first country in the European Union to mandate green purchasing protocols across all levels of government. The National Action Plan on Green Public Procurement sets guidelines and offers definitions on green purchasing for Italian municipalities. In Italy, government purchasing accounts for 10 - 11% of the country's gross domestic product. Examples of purchases include construction materials, chemicals, vehicle fleets, office materials, and electronics. These purchases are significant contributors to global climate change and other environmental concerns during their manufacturing and while in use.

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Why is government purchasing so important? In Australia, it accounts for roughly 36.2% of the country's gross domestic product. Examples of purchases include vehicle fleets, construction material, chemicals, electronics, and office materials. These purchases collectively contribute to global climate change and a host of other environmental concerns associated with raw material sourcing, production, use, and disposal.

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Government purchasing in Australia accounts for 36.2% of the country's total gross domestic product. Examples of these purchases include vehicle fleets, construction material, chemicals, electronics, and office materials. Collectively, these items contribute to global climate change and a host of other environmental concerns. Some municipalities are implementing sustainable purchasing policies to reduce their negative impacts.

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Australia's government purchasing accounts for 36.2% of the country's gross domestic product. Examples of purchases include construction material, chemicals, vehicle fleets, office materials, and electronics. These purchases collectively contribute to global climate change and a host of other environmental concerns during their manufacturing and use. Many Australian municipalities are adopting sustainable purchasing policies to reduce their environmental impacts. A sustainable purchasing policy formalizes an organization's commitment to reduce the environmental harms associated with purchasing and procurement. 

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Government purchasing in Mexico accounts for 27.9% of its gross domestic product. Examples of purchases include vehicle fleets, construction materials, chemicals, electronics, and office materials. Collectively, these items contribute to global climate change and a host of other environmental concerns during manufacturing and while in use. In response, local Mexican municipalities are implementing green purchasing policies to reduce the environmental impacts of these purchases.

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Government purchasing accounts for 27.9% of Mexico's gross domestic product. Examples of purchases include vehicle fleets, construction materials, chemicals, electronics, and office materials. These items collectively contribute to global climate change and a host of other environmental concerns during manufacturing and while in use. In response, some Mexican municipalities have implemented green purchasing policies to help reduce the environmental impacts associated with these purchases.

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Government purchasing accounts for 27.9% of Mexico's gross domestic product. Examples of purchases include vehicle fleets, construction materials, chemicals, electronics, and office materials. These purchases collectively contribute to global climate change and a host of other environmental concerns when manufactured and while in use.

Some Mexican municipalities have implemented green purchasing policies to address the environmental impacts associated with government purchasing. A sustainable purchasing policy formalizes an organization's commitment to reduce the environmental harms related to purchasing. These policies can also improve municipalities' internal efficiencies, thus enhancing cost savings. 

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

In 2001, Japan's Ministry of Environment partnered with the Japanese Green Purchasing Network to create a "green product database" to help sub-national governments pursue sustainable purchasing. Municipal governments are encouraged to adopt green purchasing and have this database as a resource to guide their endeavors.Government purchases in Japan account for 19.8% of the gross domestic product. Examples of these items include vehicle fleets, construction materials, chemicals, electronics, and office materials. Collectively, they contribute to global climate change and other environmental concerns.

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Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

Japanese governmental purchases account for 19.8% of its gross domestic product. These purchases include vehicle fleets, construction materials, chemicals, electronics, and office materials, to name a few. Collectively, these purchases are significant contributors to global climate change and other environmental concerns. Green purchasing policies are one way that Japan can significantly curb environmental impacts while stimulating the global demand for green products and services. For this reason, Japan's national government has developed guidelines for "green" or environmentally conscious purchasing.

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By: Elizabeth Bruns, Nicole Darnall, Kylie Flynn, Angela Fox

In Japan, sustainable purchasing policies are required at the national and federal level. To assist, Japan’s Ministry of Environment has developed guidelines for "green" or environmentally conscious purchasing. At the municipal level, however, anecdotal evidence suggests that implementation is inconsistent, which means they are missing important opportunities to improve the environment.

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In the Fall 2018 semester, ASU Project Cities convened 47 Arizona State University students across five classes to collaborate with the City of Glendale on three unique community development projects. Following a fulfilling semester, the PC team is excited to share the completion of our Project Summary Reports which document the experience and provide a digestible, action-oriented guide to the high level strategies and recommendations posed by our students.

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As local governments step to the forefront of sustainability commitment-making, a team of Arizona State University researchers – including School of Sustainability Professor Nicole Darnall – launch a project aimed at making it easier for cities to “buy green."

Called the Sustainable Purchasing Research Initiative, the project was informed by survey responses from 616 government officials from 459 cities. The responses led the ASU team to create eight real-world recommendations that can be used by city officials considering environmentally-friendly products – from light bulbs to carpeting.

The tips will be disseminated in a marketing blast that will reach thousands of local governments nationwide.