NERC in the News
NERC specs aid buying earth-friendly office supplies
By Jared Paben, Resource Recycling
Jan. 6, 2015
New specifications for office supplies aim to help overworked, short-staffed government offices purchase environmentally preferable products.
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) recently released model specifications that public purchasers can reference or copy when crafting bid solicitations and vendor contracts. They include specs for 20-pound copy and multipurpose paper, monochrome toner cartridges and other office supplies.
The specs were developed for product categories that purchasers consider most difficult to buy "green," according to a NERC press release, and they’re based on current marketplace options. In addition to recommendations for product attributes — using post-consumer recycled materials, avoiding anti-microbial coatings, supplying high-yield toner cartridges, among others — the specs recommend requirements for vendors. Those include minimizing packaging, consolidating deliveries and prohibiting delivery truck idling, among others.
Teams of environmentally preferable purchasing professionals, public purchasers and products experts developed the specifications. The Roy A. Hunt Foundation provided funding for the project.
