Sustainable Purchasing Decisions Makes $ents
As County employees, we typically weigh varying factors regarding which products to buy and where to shop. While price, quality, and convenience often guide these decisions, another factor worth exploring is a product’s impact on the planet.
For many consumers, sustainability has moved from a niche concern to a driving factor influencing purchasing decisions. More and more, consumers and businesses are buying products manufactured with less waste and toxic byproducts, made with recycled content, or produced with less energy and water.
Big or small, purchases add up. According to the Lane County Internal Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, “supply chain purchasing” represents 18% of the County’s GHGs (or 36,227 metric tons of CO2e). This amount is second behind Short Mountain Landfill, our largest source of operational emissions.
From a cost standpoint, Lane County spent approximately $44,159 on office paper and $44,290 on toner and ink cartridges in 2024.
Most Lane County purchases happen through Office Depot Product (ODP) Business Solutions. A snapshot of the County’s spending over the last 12 months on ODP reveals that upwards of 36% of office supply purchases were not “green,” with the most significant purchase categories representing paper, computers and technology, and cleaning and office supplies.
How Can Lane County Employees Prioritize Sustainable Purchasing?
Let’s start with some basic definitions.
Recycled Content: This is an easy one: when paper is recycled and turned back into paper, we refer to it as recycled paper or paper with recycled content. The primary environmental benefit of using recycled paper instead of virgin paper is that it reduces the need to cut down trees to make more paper.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): FSC-certified paper adheres to 10 principles that incorporate guidelines on issues such as forest management practices, safe working conditions, and protection of indigenous peoples, whose communities are often impacted by forest management.
Remanufactured Cartridges: Remanufactured toner and ink cartridges were originally brand-new cartridges used, then professionally cleaned, refilled, and sold again. Ink is usually similar to or close to the quality of new cartridges.
ENERGY STAR: An energy-efficiency program started by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established energy efficiency specifications that meet lower energy-use criteria. ENERGY STAR certification applies to appliances, refrigerators, building materials, computers, lighting, copiers, and servers.
EPEAT: The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is the ecolabel for the IT sector. EPEAT helps purchasers, manufacturers, and resellers buy and sell environmentally preferable electronic products.
ODP allows employees to review the GreenerOffice Rating System when evaluating product categories. When a price is comparable or within a reasonable range, employees will ideally seek products with lower environmental impacts.
What About the Dollars and Cents $$?
Just because you make a sustainable choice doesn’t mean you necessarily pay more. As of January 2025, Boise Aspen (30% recycled paper) is $39.96 per case versus virgin (non-recycled) white copy paper ($39.97). Remanufactured toner and ink cartridges are not only cheaper than new cartridges, but they also stand by the printer’s warranty.
Interested in Learning More?
Lane County Green Teams are committed to creating change within our organization. Be sure to visit the Green Team Intranet page or become a member of the Green Team Channel. Resources like the Sustainable Procurement Guide offer simple, cost-saving, and cost-neutral choices we can all make to reduce our environmental impacts. It just makes “cents.”