Green Seal Partnerships
Introducing Two New Pilot Programs: Green Purchasing and Green Facilities
Since the mid-1990s, Green Seal's Institutional Greening programs have provided technical assistance to pioneering private and public organizations, including governments at the federal, state and local levels, to help them green their purchasing and facilities management programs. Green Seal views these activities as a way of "closing the circle" — institutional greening helps increase the demand for environmentally preferable products and services, which in turn supports the manufacturers and suppliers of those products and services. Purchasers and the environment are the ultimate beneficiaries as greener products and services become more affordable and more widely available across the US.
Building on this experience, Green Seal has developed two new pilot programs, the Green Purchasing Partnership and the Green Facilities Partnership. The aims of the pilot partnerships are to provide recognition and, if requested, technical assistance to organizations that are working to implement environmentally preferable practices. The partnerships are not standard-based certification programs; rather, both partnerships provide recognition based on implementation of an action plan that is specific to each partner organization's particular challenges, opportunities and objectives.
The pilot partnerships are intended to complement recognized green certification or best-practices programs, such as the US Green Building Council's LEED rating systems. For example, in order to achieve the highest level of the Green Facilities Partnership an organization will be expected to make all reasonable efforts to achieve LEED certification for its operations and maintenance program. Similarly, a partner's action plan could be tailored to support achievement of the requirements of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's STARS rating system, for example, or the best practices of the Green Guide for Health Care.
Green Seal is actively seeking organizations interested in participating in the pilot phase of one or both partnerships, which is expected to last 12-18 months. An organization that is considering participation should submit a preliminary application.
Green Purchasing Partnership:
Green Facilities Partnership:
For additional information, e-mail partnerships@greenseal.org with contact information. Please indicate which partnership(s) you are interested in or would like to learn more about.
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