The Green Purchasing Network (GPN) published the results of a survey conducted among 2,561 members, 709 non-member municipalities and 636 other non-members from October through November 2002. The GPN was established in 1996 to promote green purchasing by companies, governmental organizations and consumer groups in Japan.

Among the companies and groups that responded to the survey, 92 percent had already introduced green purchasing, 53 percent had written policies on green purchasing and 32 percent had set up targets and evaluated their achievements. The results show the steady growth in green purchasing efforts since the previous survey.

Also, 15 percent provide information about their green purchasing achievements in their environmental reports and 8 percent on their web sites.

Many respondents reported positive results of their green purchasing efforts: "environmental awareness of employees has increased" (67 percent), "environmental burden has been reduced" (43 percent).

In addition, 39 percent of respondents examined not only the product attributes but also producers' efforts towards the environment. The evaluation criteria included "engagement in green purchasing," "acquirement of ISO14001 certification" and "establishment of recycling systems for end-of-life products."

Responses from sellers showed that the sales of environmentally friendly products accounted for 35 percent on average among all products. Moreover, 60 percent of sellers answered that the sales of environmentally friendly products have grown and 74 percent answered that their customers' awareness has increased. The overall results revealed increasing awareness of green purchasing and steady progress in practical measures.



Posted: 2003/03/04 09:08:13 PM
Japanese version

TAG Eco-product/Business , Manufacturing industry , NGO/Citizen , Non-manufacturing industry , Other