Writing Green Contracts
Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico tailored its supply contracts to meet the green purchasing objectives of RCRA and E.O. 13101. During contract solicitations, Sandia asked each bidder to respond to three questions: 1) what efforts they would make to help Sandia meet EPA and environmental health and safety requirements; 2) how would they provide recycled content products at competitive prices; and 3) how their relationship with their suppliers would allow for these products to be supplied and how easy it would be to get new recycled content products supplied. Based on the responses to these questions, Sandia determined which supplier could provide the best overall value to the laboratories, and between May 2000 and June 2001, issued contracts to three suppliers for remanufactured toner cartridges, copier paper, and office products, respectively.

The results have been significant. In FY 2002, Sandia realized a cost savings of $154,000 by purchasing remanufactured toner cartridges, which are considerable cheaper than virgin cartridges. Additionally, the lab sent for remanufacturing and recycling 10,500 pounds of spent cartridges.

The new contracts also allowed Sandia to increase its use of recycled content paper from 81 percent in Fiscal Year 2001 to 97 percent in FY 2003. For non-paper recycled content office products, progress is still occurring after a near doubling between 2000 and 2001. Compliance went from 42 percent in 2000 to 82 percent in 2001 to 83 percent in 2003. In 2003, Sandia worked with its suppliers to develop an Internet-based system for ordering products that has the added feature of being better able to block non-recycled content products.

For more information about Sandia National Laboratories dedicated contracts program, contact Anastasia Richardson at arichar@sandia.gov, (505) 284-3983.

General Services Administration. Robert Woodside of the General Services Administration's New York Acquisition Center devised a flexible acquisition plan for recycled content paper that takes advantage of fluctuations in the market to get the best possible price for the Federal government. Because the New York Acquisition Center purchases $40 million in copier paper annually, GSA carriers a significant amount of market clout. Mr. Woodside was able to use this leverage to structure the center's recycled content copier paper acquisition practices to enable it to award contracts on a 1-, 2-, 3-month, fixed quantity, lowest price, or fastest delivery basis. As a result, GSA maintains both market leverage to get the best price and flexibility in its ability to get what it needs. Additionally, Mr. Woodside modified contract language affecting all Federal Supply Service schedule contractors to require that they supply Federal customers exclusively with paper containing a minimum of 30 percent postconsumer content.

For more information about GSA's acquisition of recycled copier paper, contact Robert Streeter at Robert.streeter@gsa.gov, (212) 742-2769.