Green-e Certification Recommended in New Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council Guidance
Recently released Guidance for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing suggests efficiency and purchasing certified clean energy as a pathway to reducing environmental impact
SAN FRANCISCO, February 25, 2015 /3BL Media/ - The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) recently released the pilot version of Guidance for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing, which recommends purchasing Green-e Energy certified renewable energy for businesses that want to reduce the environmental impact of their electricity use. The guidance is intended to help organizations of all sizes reduce the environmental, social, and economic impact of their supply chains. It includes a section on reducing the impact of electricity use, and recommends both implementing energy conservation measures and buying Green-e Energy certified renewable energy.
SPLC’s guidance also recommends purchasing Green-e Climate certified offsets where green power options are not available and onsite renewable energy is not practical.
"We are excited to launch these important guidelines and highlight renewable energy and carbon offsets as a critical component of sustainable sourcing," said Jason Pearson, SPLC Executive Director. "Green-e has been an active participant in our stakeholder conversations and plays a key role in ensuring that purchasers have credible product options. We are pleased to include them in the guidance.”
The pilot guidance, which was released on February 5, 2015, reiterates the importance of clean power purchasing in general, and reinforces the critical role of renewable energy certificates (RECs) as the “currency for renewable energy claims in both compliance and voluntary markets” in the U.S. and Canada. The guidance also recommends buying clean energy in order to spur the development of new renewable generation: “the purchase decisions of individual electricity consumers can add up to have an aggregate, demand-side effect on supply of the product (given sufficient demand), in this case, what kind of electricity generation resources get developed and dispatched.”
“This guidance offers clear, practical solutions to businesses of all sizes for reducing the environmental impact of their operations,” said Todd Jones, Green-e Climate manager at Center for Resource Solutions and a member of SPLC’s Technical Advisory Group for Electricity, which helped develop the guidance. “It allows a clear path for companies that want to differentiate themselves through sustainable practices.”
The draft guidance is the most recent step toward the organization’s goal of developing “a shared platform for guiding, measuring, and recognizing leadership in sustainable procurement” for its member organizations. SPLC will take feedback on the pilot guidance through July 2015, with the final version released later. Organizations interested in offering feedback of the pilot guidance can sign up at on the SPLC website at https://www.sustainablepurchasing.org/guidance.
About Green‑e and Center for Resource Solutions
A program of the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions, Green‑e is North America's leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green‑e offers certification and verification services through Green‑e Energy, a renewable energy certification program; Green‑e Climate, a greenhouse gas emission reduction certification program; and Green‑e Marketplace, a program that provides forward-thinking organizations a simple, nationally recognized logo they can use to communicate their renewable energy and climate commitment to their customers and stakeholders. To learn more about Green‑e Certified products and programs available in all 50 states and Canada, visit www.green‑e.org.
About the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council
The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support and recognize purchasing leadership that accelerates the transition to a prosperous and sustainable future. The Council’s programs and community of practice supports institutional purchasers in optimizing the social, environmental, and economic benefits of spending decisions. To learn more about SPLC and its programs, visit https://www.sustainablepurchasing.org/about/.
CONTACT
Jeff Swenerton
Center for Resource Solutions
415-561-2119
jeff@resource-solutions.org
©2015 Center for Resource Solutions. For more information, see us at www.resource-solutions.org or call 415-561-2100
