Living Business Home Natural Resources   Energy Paper Water Waste Managing materials Environmental   Noise pollution Air pollution Workplace   Workplace safety Green purchasing Living Business Seminars   What is 'green purchasing'? Green purchasing is simply the purchasing of products and services that have less impact on the environment while simultaneously providing you with the best value for money. Some useful tips for green purchasing:   • Choose environmentally friendly products, for example those with valid local eco-labels or legitimate overseas eco-labels (Energy Star, Green Seal, EU Flower etc)   • Develop and implement a green purchasing policy and procedure   • Consider environmental performance during vendor selection and evaluation - this is called greening the supply chain   • Prepare performance contracting - finance the replacement of inefficient equipment and benefit from reduced costs through energy efficient equipment   Some examples of environmentally friendly products include:   • Products that are made of raw materials with recycled content (eg paper, plastics, etc)   • Products that are reusable or recyclable   • Environmentally preferable products or services (eg less toxic chemicals, water-based solvents, etc)   • Products that generate less waste (eg less packaging, bulk purchasing, etc)   • Energy- and water-efficient products   • Products that use alternative fuel or renewable energy   Back to Living Business Find out why certain products and services have 'eco-labels'. How can you ensure that suppliers, to whom you outsource your work, provide their services in an environmentally friendly way?