Eco-business / Social Venture

May 21, 2003

 

Green Purchasing by Government Reduces Environmental Impact

Keywords: Eco-business / Social Venture Government Manufacturing industry Non-manufacturing industry Policy / Systems 

Japan's Ministry of the Environment conducted a survey on certain items to determine the effects of green procurement by the government and related entities in fiscal 2001. The survey estimated reductions in environmental burden and looked at the creation of a market for designated procurement goods (eco-friendly goods meeting certain standards).

Regarding copying paper, for example, designated procurement goods accounted for 23.6 percent of total domestic shipments in fiscal 2001, more than double the percentage of the previous year. Given that the national government and related entities account for as much as 40 percent of shipments in designated procurement goods, green purchasing by these entities presumably made a significant contribution to build a market for such items.

Green purchasing reduced pulpwood consumption by an estimated 207,000 cubic meters (equivalent to 292,000 standing trees) in fiscal 2001, compared with the consumption had all the copying paper been made from 100 percent virgin pulp.

In the past, data on green procurement focused on the number and cost of eco-friendly items procured. As a reduction in environmental burden is the real objective of these initiatives, however, the collection of data from the perspective of environmental burden is important to promote green purchasing effectively.



Posted: 2003/05/21 09:30:11 AM
Japanese version

 

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