When EPA decided to create a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) which directs EPA purchasers to green desktop office supplies, it first took a look at what other federal agencies had done in this area. EPA compiled it into a document to share with all federal agencies and others working to green their organization's purchases.

That document, Buying Green Online: Greening Government E-Procurement of Office Supplies is now available at http://www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/buying_green_online.pdf.

Here are some of the research findings highlighted in the report:

Many federal agencies (outlined in a chart on Page 10 - 13 of the report) are currently buying office supplies through Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs). BPAs are simplified methods of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing a contract or contracts with qualified sources of supply. Under BPAs, the office supplies are often accessed via agency or facility specific e-catalogs.

Agencies cited (1) cost savings through group discounts, (2) reduced time spent on routine processing of orders, (3) improved tracking and monitoring capabilities, and (4) increased ability to direct purchasers to products meeting agency purchasing priorities as the main reasons for buying office supplies through BPAs.

Some agencies have made an effort to increase the number of green products available for purchase through these BPAs. Most of these have limited the products available for purchase to those meeting EPA's recycled content guidelines (CPG products). Here are some of the results:

• DOE's Sandia National Laboratories reported a 30 percent increase in CPG products from FY00 to FY02.
• NASA's Kennedy Space Center increased their purchases of CPG products by 20 percent between FY01 and FY02.