The National Association of Counties (NACo) is offering a free green purchasing kit to its members.  The kit is designed to help counties adopt sustainable and cost-effective green procurement policies.

NACo and its partners, U.S. Communities, the Responsible Purchasing Network, and Green Seal developed this toolkit to help America’s counties reduce negative impacts on the environment without compromising on cost or performance. We believe that when buying products with reduced environmental impacts, it is unacceptable to compromise on quality and cost. In fact, the toolkit contains case studies which illustrate how counties are already purchasing green products and actually saving money through lower upfront costs, reduced operating costs, and avoid substantial costs associated with hazardous material disposal.

As previously reported on Conduit Street, the Maryland Green Purchasing Committee’s 2011 Annual Report contains green procurement guidelines and an “environmentally preferable purchasing” best practices manual.  The report is now available through the Department of General Services website.  Click here to download (warning – large file).