The official publication of NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement

www.govpro.com

Green Purchasing Around the World Common challenges, common solutions

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

PLUS: Getting Money to Classroom Teachers 5 Energy Misconceptions How to Build a Category Analysis Leveraging the Buzzword Paradigm

A Penton ® publication

TCPN saves municipalities time and money. Overseeing services and infrastructure requires a lot of effort and planning. The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) helps simplify your steps and reduce your costs. TCPN’s contracts leverage the purchasing power of over 37,000 actively engaged government entities. All contracts are competitively bid and awarded by a single entity – Region 4 Education Service Center. TCPN monitors contracts through third-party audits and regular reviews to ensure vendor accountability. You can rely on TCPN’s lead agency’s ISO certified processes, 100+ combined years of government purchasing experience and 50+ combined years of auditing experience – we know what it takes to keep a community running. Keep your service responses on time and on budget. Go to www.tcpn.org and sign up today.

CONTENTS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 VOLUME 22, NO. 1

PERSPECTIVES 2 Editorial: Report from the frozen South. 4 Guest Commentary: Sustainability’s triple bottom line.

HOT TOPICS 6 Spend Analysis: Examining by category. 10 Energy Procurement: Top 5 misconceptions. 12 Resources: Free online coop directory. 14 Communication: The ‘issue’ of buzzwords.

IN DEPTH

16

Green Purchasing GREEN PURCHASING AROUND THE GLOBE Purchasers worldwide have adopted remarkably similar approaches to integrate green considerations into standardized purchasing practices, have encountered remarkably similar challenges, and are beginning to build common solutions collaboratively to make green purchasing even easier. BY SCOT CASE

24

Purchasing Cards MANAGING THE FLOW OF DOLLARS INTO THE CLASSROOM

PEOPLE 30 Meet the Pros: UPPCC new certification list.

BACK PAGES 31 Ad Index 32 Darin Matthews: ¿Cómo estás?

Seeking to simplify the purchasing process, the Mississippi Department of Education worked with the State Department of Finance and Administration to implement a statewide purchasing card (p-card) system enrolling 35,000 classroom teachers. BY LARRY ANDERSON

ISSN 1078-0769 SUBSCRIPTIONS: Free subscriptions to Government Procurement (ISSN 1078-0769) are limited to public-sector purchasing professionals. Those qualified may apply by calling 847-763-9670 or visiting http://www.govpro.com. Subscriptions for others are available, subject to publisher’s acceptance, at these rates: U.S. and U.S. possessions, $39/1 year, $59/2 years, $7/single copy; Canada, $49/1 year, $79/2 years, $8/single copy; international, $59/1 year, $99/2 years, $10/single copy. Send subscription payment (by check or credit card) to Penton Media Customer Service, Government Procurement, PO Box 2100, Skokie, IL 60076-7800. For all customer service inquiries, call 847-763-9670; fax to 847-763-9673; e-mail [email protected]; or visit: http://www.submag.com/ sub/gp. Buy positive

microfilm or microfiche copies of out-of-print issues from National Archive Publishing Co. (NAPC), 300 N. Zeeb Rd., PO Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998; phone: 734-302-6500 or 800-420-6272, ext. 6578. LIST RENTALS: To rent circulation lists of Government Procurement, contact Merit Direct, 333 Westchester Ave., White Plains, NY 10604; Website: http://www.meritdirect.com/market COPYING: Permission is granted to users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center Inc. (CCC) to photocopy any article (except for those in which separate copyright ownership is indicated on the first page of the article), for a base fee of $1.25 per copy of the article plus 60 cents per page paid directly to CCC, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923. (Code No. 1078-0769/07 $1.25 + .60).

REPRINTS: For customized article reprints, contact: Wright’s Media, phone: 877-652-5295; email: [email protected] PUBLISHED: Government Procurement (ISSN 1078-0769) is published bi-monthly by Penton Media Inc., 9800 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS 66212-2216. Canadian Post Publications Mail agreement No. 40612608. Canada return address: IMEX Global Solutions, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Canadian No. R126431964. Copyright© 2014 Penton POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Government Procurement, PO Box 2100, Skokie, IL 60076-7800. Periodicals postage paid at Shawnee Mission, KS, and at additional mailing offices. SALES OFFICES ARE LISTED ON PAGE 4.

PERSPECTIVES [editorial] A Penton® Publication

The Night Snow Drove Old Dixie Down By Bill Wolpin

S

now doesn’t visit Atlanta often, but one thing is clear when it does: nobody’s prepared. Cluelessness reigned supreme in today’s capital of the New South. And there’s plenty of blame to go around, for example, city hall and the governor’s office, which did not salt streets and highways. And let’s not forget its residents who thought they could ride roughshod over the roads. We were no smarter than the rest, especially three of us who finally realized that we’d stayed too long at the office. We scavenged a few benches to rest on for the night, and walked down the road to that Southern Oasis, the Waffle House. We thought we were just going to get something to eat, but instead found ourselves in the middle of the chaos outside. We had been watching outside through our windows for the past 12 hours as cars lined up, nearly motionless. But it was worse now that the ice had settled on the roads and steep inclines, leaving people stuck in cars whose wheels could only spin. Other cars had been abandoned for lack of gas or in sheer frustration, causing more problems. We jumped into the fray, pushing cars into parking lots and helping others gain enough traction to move forward. With her car moved to the side, one woman was in tears as she told us that she has been in traffic for eight hours. With that, she left the car and started walking the rest of the way home. Later, we walked into the only hotel in the area. A bleary-eyed clerk at the front desk told us more than 300 people without rooms were there — huddled in corners, sitting on the floors and of course drinking at the bar. You could hear them on their phones telling their loved ones of abandoned cars and wondering how they would get home. A few steps out of the hotel, we landed in the Waffle House. The waitresses lucky enough to shoulder this shift darted from table to table taking orders, pouring coffee and dispensing as much good will as they could muster. It was chaos there, too, but it was tempered by a strange sense of normalcy. We were eating dinner. Funny how waffles, eggs and grits made us feel full, or at least ready to stop eating, so we skated across the still-crowded streets toward the office, where we were met by another employee who had invited two snowstorm refugees — a mother and her young son — to spend the night in our boardroom. It’s 2 in the morning and outside, the road has cleared except for the occasional tow truck rumbling down the street. Inside, the six of us are lying on our makeshift beds thinking about how we will remember the night when all hell broke loose because of a couple inches of snow. Finally, I fell asleep, still wondering if the woman who wandered off into the night in tears ever made it home. BILL WOLPIN is editorial director of Government Procurement and several other Penton Media publications.

6151 Powers Ferry Road NW, Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30339 Phone: 770-618-0112 FAX: 913-514-3887 http://www.govpro.com EDITORIAL STAFF Bill Wolpin Editorial Director [email protected] Larry Anderson Editor [email protected] Erin Greer Managing Editor [email protected] Kim Blaski Production Manager [email protected] Joan Roof Audience Marketing Manager [email protected] Wes Clark Art Director [email protected]

151 Spring St. Herndon,VA 20170-5223 Phone: 703-736-8900 Fax: 703-736-2818 Brent Maas Executive Director, Business Strategy & Relationships [email protected] Cathie Patin Marketing Communications Manager [email protected] EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Debbie Field, CPPO,VCO Virginia Department of General Services Yolanda C. Jones, C.P.M., APP Clark County, Nev. Jay T. McCleary, CPPB City of Red Wing, Minn.

2 | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

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PERSPECTIVES [guest column]

Sustainability’s Triple Bottom Line By Patricia-Anne Tom

E

mory University in Atlanta has long been internationally renowned for its liberal arts, graduate and professional academic programs. More recently, the university has received acclaim for its green initiatives. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) named Emory University the nation’s top higher education institution in its annual “Best of Green Schools 2013” report. Yet Emory didn’t set out to win awards when it made sustainability a core commitment a decade ago. In 2004, the university’s President James Wagner, Provost Earl Lewis and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Mike Mandl simply set a vision “to help restore the global ecosystem, foster healthy living and reduce the university’s impact on the local environment,” according to Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives. The school’s sustainability achievements include: > The Piedmont Project, an annual workshop that teaches faculty and graduate students how to incorporate sustainability into classroom curriculums. > Sustainability-related courses offered in 47 departments across campus. > A bus fleet powered entirely by a biodiesel blend made with used cooking oil from campus cafeterias. > Reduced petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by offering local and sustainable food in its facilities. By 2015, Emory will be serving 75 percent local or sustainable ingredients in campus and hospital cafeterias. > Roughly half of the University’s 700 acres of land remains undeveloped, supporting the protection of the Wesley Woods, Baker, and Lullwater forests. > Reduced water and energy use, and waste reduction. For instance, Emory’s water management plan encourages incorporating water-saving technology into green buildings, cisterns to collect grey water and rainwater for use in irrigation and toilet flushing. In some buildings, large heat wheels pull moisture from the air while efficiently ventilating buildings. > Since 2001, all new construction on campus has been required to seek at least LEED silver certification [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.]. USGBC has recognized Emory for having among the highest number of square feet of LEED-certified space of any campus in America, with 11 buildings having achieved LEED gold status and six projects pending that, once certified, will total 3 million gross square feet of LEED-certified space. PATRICIA-ANNE TOM is a contributing writer to American School and University, a sister publication of Government Procurement.

4 | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

GROUP OFFICERS Gregg Herring Group Publisher [email protected] Joanne Romanek Online Advertising Specialist [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES Dave Gibson Regional Sales Manager [email protected] Phone: 216-931-9469 AK, CO, CT, DE, DC, GA, HI, MA, MD, ME, MT, OH, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, RI, SC, UT, VA, VT, E. Canada Andy VanSciver Regional Sales Manager [email protected] Phone: 312-840-8461 AL, AK, CA, FL, IL, MS, MN, OR, PA, TN, WI, WV Ron Corey Regional Sales Manager [email protected] Phone: 248-608-0994 AR, AZ, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MO, NE, NM, OK, ND, SD, TX, WY, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan

CORPORATE OFFICERS David Kieselstein Chief Executive Officer [email protected] Nicola Allais Chief Financial Officer Executive Vice President [email protected] Bob MacArthur Senior Vice President [email protected]

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HOTTOPICS [spend analysis]

BUILDING A DETAILED CATEGORY ANALYSIS By Jonathan White

I

analysis, but the benefits can be significant. The first requirement for category analysis is that an organization’s expenditure be organized into meaningful categories. You may be able to use the commodity/cost/subjective/object codes that were applied to your spend as it worked its way through your accounts payable system. In other cases, you may have to undertake additional categorization effort and classify vendors or expenditure outside that system to obtain data robust enough for a category analysis. Bringing purchasing card expenditure into the analysis is also required to provide visibility of all expenditure. Once the data is joined and any categorization issues are rectified (which is outside the scope of this article) then you are on the way to building your initial category overview.

n the spring of 2013, NIGP’s strategic partner, Spikes Cavell, developed a Guide to Procurement Savings designed to show public sector procurement teams how they can use spend data to understand, change and measure their procurement function. Previous issues of Government Procurement have featured articles on understanding the current procurement situation through data and six different types of procurement savings that could be identified using that data. Now let’s take the next step and explore creating a category analysis across all parts of an organization’s expenditure. WHY CATEGORY ANALYSIS? A category analysis and management approach in procurement usually marks a distinct organizational change. Rather than departmental budget holders “going shopping,” there is a transition to well-organized, planned procurement efforts that offer better value and efficiency and leverage the organization’s buying power. Many public sector procurement departments are still living with fewer staff and resources available to carry out savings projects. Under such circumstances, it takes a deliberate and focused effort to overcome hurdles and carry out a category

CATEGORY OVERVIEW A high-level overview of spend by category provides you the necessary perspective to begin identifying categories where it makes the most sense to take action. (See Table I.) The action you take in one category may be very different than the action you take in another category, even though both deliver savings. Once you have a category overview, you can look for patterns and outliers in the data. Match those observations with an understanding of your

Overview of spend by category (Table 1) vCode Business Sector

Total Spend

Total Transactions

Total Suppliers

Construction

29,515,804.92

4,621

207

Financial Services

17,580,291.26

184

12

Utilities & Energy

13,576,382.87

559

28

Waste & Environmental Services

8,270,213.27

474

37

Information Technology

6,017,390.00

819

110

Security Equipment & Services

5,192,492.45

1,216

39

Vehicles

2,896,852.96

2,265

62

Professional Services

2,672,840.30

160

19

Facilities Management

2,400,015.99

1,359

76

Transportation Management

2,266,467.48

201

19

6 | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

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HOTTOPICS [spend analysis] team’s time and capabilities, the organization’s strategic objectives, and an estimate of the value of potential savings and efficiencies that could be delivered. These factors will contribute to choosing which categories to act on. Construction might be the highest category of expenditure (as is the case for many public organizations), but that spend may already be managed by a facilities team within your organization. There may be significant spend on security equipment, but there may be no category expert in the procurement team right now who has the experience to tackle that category. There may be organization-wide initiatives (such as getting more and better technology into the classroom) that could direct focus to the Information Technology category, even though it wouldn’t otherwise be the first category chosen to work on. The key is to have a category overview the procurement team can use to determine its overall strategic direction and next actions. A MORE DETAILED CATEGORY ANALYSIS Once you have chosen one or more categories to focus on, a more detailed category analysis should be built around those categories. Spend on vehicles could be broken down into Cars and Trucks, Parts, and Heavy Equipment. It’s one thing to understand that you spent money with 110 Information Technology companies and decide that 110 is too many, but the next step is to understand who those vendors are and whether they are Computer Systems Integrators, IT Hardware and Soft ware Providers, Telecommunications Services companies

or something else within IT entirely (See Table II.) You may then begin to ask questions about how many departments are using each vendor, what contracts are already in place in each category and whether amount of spend, number of transactions or number of vendors have shown any significant increase or decrease in the last three years. The answers to these questions and more help determine what, if any, action should be taken within the category. You may identify savings opportunities early on in the category analysis process and want to start working on them right away. However, one of the keys to delivering well organized and well planned procurement efforts is not only having plans for the projects you are working on, but also having visibility of what you are not working on. Without the category overview at the beginning of the process, you won’t know whether the projects you are working on are really the most important or will deliver the greatest benefits to your organization. The next article in this series will go into the category analysis in more detail and provide ways public sector organizations can use expenditure data to prepare for the contracting process. JONATHAN WHITE is Territory Director for Spikes Cavell, Inc., which equips decision makers in the public sector with the business intelligence, online tools and analytical insight to transform the way they procure goods and services. The Spikes Cavell Observatory is an online platform that facilitates delivery of spend and contract visibility quickly, affordably and with little effort on the agency’s or institution’s part.

A more detailed category analysis: information technology (Table 11) vCode Vendor Category

Total Spend

Total Transactions

Total Suppliers

2,541,236.93

114

25

IT Resellers

786,176.36

131

7

Software Developers

590,718.61

56

27

Managed & Outsourced IT Service Providers

430,502.43

26

4

Fixed Telecommunications Service Vendors

421,942.75

214

5

Mobile Communications Service Vendors

316,845.88

50

2

Printers, Copiers & MFD Vendors

315,806.58

59

7

Installed Software Providers

132,667.42

5

4

Networking Service Providers

109,069.59

27

5

Other Telecom Equipment Vendors

100,030.64

9

1

Computer Systems Integrators

8 | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

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Proud Partner

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© 2014 The Grasshopper Company. All rights reserved.

HOTTOPICS [energy procurement]

Top 5 Misconceptions About the Procurement of Energy Commodities WHY OVERCOMING THEM IS CRITICAL TO REDUCING COSTS By Bob Wooten

E

very day, energy decision-makers are bombarded with phone calls and emails from energy firms proclaiming they have the best ideas about how to procure energy. However, energy procurement may be just one of many “hats” the decision-maker wears. The resulting confusion can lead to faulty opinions about energy procurement best practices. These misconceptions are typically held by those ”responsible” for energy procurement – purchasing agents, facility managers, assistant superintendents, city managers, county judges, auditors, and others. While most energy managers have a great deal of expertise managing facility operations, they are not experts in the energy commodity markets. Here, we outline the five most common misconceptions held by energy decisionmakers or anyone who is part of a team making energy procurement recommendations for their organization.  MISCONCEPTION 1: “I ALREADY UNDERSTAND THE ENERGY MARKETS AND HOW TO PROCURE ENERGY” Especially if the decision-maker is someone who has procured energy before or has some background in the energy markets, the tendency is to believe he or she knows enough to handle things successfully. While many energy managers are certified to handle demandside issues, which relate to how an organization uses energy once it’s delivered to them, managing the physical energy commodity itself requires a completely different knowledge base. Just as you wouldn’t want to trust cardiac surgery to someone who “used to be in the medical field” but never performed surgery, you wouldn’t want to leave energy procurement in your own hands or anyone else’s who is not fully involved every day in the energy wholesale markets. Your job is not to be an energy expert, but rather to shepherd the process for your organization – you must rely on seeking expertise to make the process successful.

10 | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014

MISCONCEPTION 2: “I MANAGE PROCUREMENT OF ALL COMMODITIES ACCORDING TO THE BID CALENDAR” Every purchasing professional maintains one, and it is the lifeblood of the procurement organization: the master bid calendar. This is how almost all procurement is managed, by working with contract expirations and end user needs to determine when each contract should be bid. The reason this doesn’t work with energy commodities is the same reason energy is so unique – volatility. Energy commodities in general, and specifically electricity, are the most volatile commodities you will ever procure. The impact on your budget of locking in a fixed price for electricity on Tuesday afternoon as opposed to Friday morning, for example, can easily be a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. While you can’t do anything about the volatility itself, you can manage your procurement process by having the tools and resources in place to follow the market and lock in prices during favorable market dips, thereby saving your organization tremendously in the long run. MISCONCEPTION 3: “MY SUPPLIER IS VERY GOOD AND ALWAYS HELPS ME SECURE THE BEST PRICE” It has been a growing trend to foster “partnerships” with suppliers, and in the energy world this sometimes means sticking with one supplier and trusting that they will always help you secure the best pricing. We mentioned before how essential it is to follow the market in order to find the best windows to secure pricing, and relying on one supplier to provide this guidance can lead to problems. This one supplier is only able to give you “their view” of the market. In addition, they are only able to deliver one solution – theirs. To ensure you are achieving the best possible procurement (product strategy, price, term, contract, etc), you must use a competitive

process that incorporates supplier responses from all suppliers in the market, not just the incumbent. Don’t worry – your current supplier will understand. MISCONCEPTION 4: “MY CONTRACT DOESN’T EXPIRE FOR ANOTHER YEAR, I’M FINE” So many opportunities for savings in energy commodities are lost by not being ready to execute a contract. Unless they are within six to twelve months of contract expiration, many make the mistake of believing there is no point to even discuss energy procurement. It has been shown time and time again, though, that this strategy is the equivalent of rolling the dice and hoping for a seven. The best approach is to continually monitor the markets, because history shows that the best contracting window may be even three years prior to the expiration of the current contract. For example, in today’s market, known as a “declining market,” energy market prices are lower the more years you go out. This characteristic can mean that a 12-month contract purchased and starting today may be priced at 7 cents per kilowatt hour whereas a 12-month contract purchased to start in 24 months may be priced at 5.5 cents per kWh. The bottom line? It’s never too early to start looking at energy prices! MISCONCEPTION 5: “WE CAN’T CONTROL ENERGY PRICES, SO THERE IS NO NEED TO MONITOR THE MARKET” This is a summation of much that has already been discussed. The misconception is that since no one has a crystal ball, there is no point in even trying to manage the process. In this scenario, the decision-maker just throws up his or her hands and says “We’ll bid this out next September.” The procurement is executed regardless of what other factors are happening in the market, and frequently attempts made by consultants and others to help are rebuffed because the belief is that no one knows the future, so why even try. Just because

you have “put the energy contract to bed” for the next three years doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be monitoring the market and your contract’s performance. This monitoring will help determine how well your previous strategy performed, as well as show you market windows to make future decisions. A continuous feedback loop regarding contract strategy and performance is essential to increase an organization’s opportunities for future savings and cost control. So all in all, don’t be a reactionary victim of doing things the same old way. Many analytical studies show that energy is one of the top three areas of spend for organizations. Take charge, and establish a proactive, managed strategy that pulls in expertise and professional resources to truly transform your organization, save thousands of additional dollars and make energy the hero of the annual budget. BOB WOOTEN, C.P.M., CEP, is Director of Government Accounts for Tradition Energy, where he manages energy procurement for a wide variety of governmental entities including cities, schools, colleges, universities, housing authorities and municipal districts. Contact Bob at [email protected].

www.govpro.com • GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT | 11

HOTTOPICS [resources]

PROCURESOURCE LAUNCHES FREE ONLINE DIRECTORY OF COOP CONTRACTS P

rocureSource has launched a first-of-its-kind online directory of cooperative purchasing contracts for use by state and local governments, school districts, higher education and nonprofits. The new service, available at www.procuresource. com, will serve as a centralized and simplified resource to locate and compare contracts. The use of cooperative contracts to deliver savings and save staff resources on the RFP process has become a widespread best practice for purchasing professionals. Because of their popularity, there are so many cooperative options that it can be difficult to identify the differences and discern whether the various cooperative procurement processes meet public procurement standards. ProcureSource was launched to address these challenges. The free service is a clearinghouse of

information on available contracts, documents and details needed for public agencies to make an informed decision on their ability to use each contract. At launch, the online directory includes the major national cooperatives and a few local cooperatives and includes more than 1,500 suppliers who hold cooperative purchasing contracts. Each listing includes details on the contract, information on the cooperative, and supporting contract documents if they were available. “ProcureSource elegantly provides the key information about cooperative programs and their contract offerings in a simple way that’s easily understood and makes for quick comparison,” said Rick Grimm, CEO of NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement. “ProcureSource is a boon to cooperative contracting due diligence.”

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HOTTOPICS [communication]

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THE ‘ISSUE’ OF BUZZWORDS By Fred Marks

I

have a particular distaste for buzzwords and a disdain for people who use them. I have fought a losing battle during my professional career and beyond against buzzwords, but the more I fight, the more buzzwords seem to be used. English is a very accommodating language. We linguistically borrow words from other languages and treat them as our own. We take words from technology and incorporate them into our daily speech. It’s an easy trap to fall into. Maslow calls it the “Golden Hammer.” He wrote “if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.” Every profession has its buzzwords, and purchasing is no exception. Think of your daily conversations in your office when discussing professional subjects. Do you think an outsider would understand you? I like email because of the flexibility and ease of use. Emails have the dual function of being both formal and informal communication methods. They have taken the place of postal mail mostly because of their speed and ease, so we should use them accordingly. It is a disservice to use texting abbreviations like LOL or OMG in formal communications; it takes away

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from the impact of the writer intended. A formal email should have a subject line that includes a reference to the matter being discussed. It should be written with complete sentences, a formal salutation and closing, a copy line for all those concerned, and the signature should be your name, title, name of organization and contact information. Informal emails can be just as effective but written instead of texting. “Can we meet at 2:15?,” “Let’s have lunch!,” and “Should we close the two lanes on the George Washington Bridge?” are good examples. Purchasing requires that practitioners have excellent communication skills. We communicate our needs to others, we are contract writers and administrators, we write memos, letters, and emails. Buzzwords are just tacky and a lazy way to write and speak. I have sat through my share of RFP Oral Presentations. I’ve seen everyone from the polished marketing manager in the red power tie or the lady in the red dress (red is supposed to be a power color, but now its becoming softer, like pinks and purples) to Lenny and Squiggy sitting in flannel shirts, asking each other “can we really do this?”

 SHUFHQW $WWKHHQG RIWKHGD\ The next time you have an oral presentation, tell the presenter that if they use jargon or buzzwords like “issue” or “paradigm” or “110 percent,” they will lose points and will be in serious danger of you walking out before they finish. You will get a much clearer presentation, and you get the added joy of watching them change the way they speak to you. You also get the chance to watch them clean up their presentations and think about every word they speak. For the most part, a majority of sellers who participate in presentations give the same marketing speech to every one of their prospective clients. Soft ware sellers are particularly vulnerable to this tactic. I see nothing wrong with using “Clarity of Oral Presentation” as a criterion (following the original Greek, “criteria” is plural, “criterion” is singular). If you want to do this right, make a list of your five most hated buzzwords and give them triple word score. Make it interesting, a game for your evaluators. Here are my five, and I start to get up and gather my things when a speaker hits three, especially if the speaker is supposed to be an expert on a subject, or worse yet, being paid to speak to a gathering. I generally like to hear what leaders of an organization or an expert have to say, but if they descend to the depths of jargon or buzzwords, it turns me off and I start to do my nine times table backwards in my brain. And they lose more points with a glitzy Power Point presentation with clip art, fancy fonts, and words and music flying in like Halley’s Comet. “Epic” is offensive to me as it doesn’t meet the standard of anything remotely like a long poem with heroes, derring-do, and pages and pages of names I can’t pronounce. Unless you are writing a Homeric

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Poem, or Beowulf or a ditty from Quintus Ennius, stop using the word. Nothing we do in purchasing is epic! “With all due respect” or its cousin from below the Mason-Dixon Line “Bless his heart” is nothing more than a signal that the next words out of the speaker will be rude or bad-mannered. “At the end of the day” can be used to denote any time period the speaker wishes. It’s used with its sibling “sunset,” and it should mean “when the job or function is complete.” “Issue” is now being used instead of “problem.” Why do we coat our problems with honey instead of addressing them head-on? To take the impact out of a problem, or to sound smarmy, does the problem no real service. A problem has to be addressed forthrightly and directly. And the gold medal goes to “To be honest.” What it really does is say to the listener that everything you’ve said prior to this has been false and disregard everything except what I’m saying now. These are only a few of my most hated buzzwords. Make your own list and purge them from your writing and vocabulary. In my working days, to keep my sanity, I’d award the “Ros Prize” for buzzwords, named after Amanda McKittrick Ros who was arguably the worst poet in the English language. Clarity was not her strong point. In her day, people would have contests to see who could read her works out loud without bursting into laughter. Look her up when you have time, it’s an exercise in how not to write. And if you want to do it right, pin a picture of the Lady on your office wall to remind you of how not to write. Her picture alone should keep you from sliding down the razor blade of poor writing.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Government Procurement is pleased to welcome back Fred Marks, who has agreed to come out of retirement (again) to write an occasional article – no pressure. Frederick Marks, CPPO, VCO, is a retired purchasing officer who has held positions as a supervising buyer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as well as director of material management for Northern Virginia Community College. Contact him at [email protected]

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IN DEPTH [green purchasing]

Green Purchasing Around the Globe Common challenges, common solutions By Scot Case

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overnments and other institutions around the world have adopted green purchasing as a way to reduce the human health, environmental and social impacts of routine purchasing decisions. Purchasers around the globe have adopted remarkably similar approaches to integrate these considerations into standardized purchasing practices, have encountered remarkably similar challenges in their efforts to do so, and are beginning to build common solutions collaboratively to make green purchasing even easier. This article highlights some trends and examples gathered from recent reports and conferences on international green purchasing efforts (sources listed at the end).

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DEFINING GREEN PURCHASING In the United States and in other countries that first adopted green purchasing in the late 1980s and early 1990s, green purchasing began with a narrow focus on buying products made from recycled content or that are more energy- or water-efficient. As the science of product life cycle assessment matured, highlighting the significant environmental impacts throughout the manufacturing, use, and disposal of products, purchasers began expanding the definition and practice of green purchasing to reflect the full range of potential impacts. They began considering the total energy used to make a product, the environmental impacts of mining or harvesting the raw materials, the hazardous materials found within products,

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· CUTTING-EDGE STYLING · CELEBRATED RELIABILITY · HISTORY OF LOW COST OF OWNERSHIP

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IN DEPTH [green purchasing] the energy, water, and indoor air quality emissions associated with using a product and the impacts of product disposal. They also considered social impacts such as the manufacturing conditions in which workers make a product, the wages they are paid, the use of child-labor and other issues. As green purchasing evolved, a variety of related terms was introduced to capture the broader considerations. Purchasers around the world have adopted terms such as: > Green Public Procurement (GPP) > Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) > Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) > Socially Responsible Procurement > Responsible Purchasing > Ethical Purchasing > Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Procurement > Sustainable Purchasing

All of the terms share a common set of principles that can be summarized with the following definition: Green purchasing is the intentional practice of buying goods and services that generate human health, environmental, and social benefit and that are produced and delivered in ways that minimize human health, environmental, and social damage while continuing to balance concerns about the product or service’s price, performance and availability. GLOBAL ACTIVITIES More than 50 countries around the world have national requirements to buy greener products and services. Even more have green purchasing activities at the national, state or municipal level. Here are a few highlights from around the world: Europe. A 2011 study of 230,000 European government

Nations With Green Purchasing Requirements ASIA China India Japan Lebanon Malaysia Philippines Indonesia Israel Republic of Korea Singapore Thailand Viet Nam AFRICA Benin Ghana Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Nigeria South Africa Tunisia

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EUROPE Austria Belgium Bulgaria – In development Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Norway Poland Portugal Romania – In development Slovakia Greece – In development Hungary – In development Iceland Ireland – In development Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania

Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom LATIN AMERICA Argentina Bahamas Brazil Chile Columbia Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Peru Uruguay

NORTH AMERICA Canada Mexico United States OCEANA Australia New Zealand

are reported to meet the requirements. In 1996, Japan also contracts signed in 2009/2010 concluded that 55 percent launched the world’s first Green Purchasing Network (GPN) to included at least one core green purchasing requirement and promote green purchasing throughout the country. GPN Japan that 26 percent included all of the European Union’s green has 2,920 members from 2,381 businesses, 286 government purchasing elements. The 28 members of the European Union are governed by the EU Public Procurement Directives of 2004, agencies, and 300 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have pledged to buy greener products. GPN Japan has which require governments to adopt green purchasing policies. also produced a database of more than 15,000 products The EU has identified 10 priority sectors: construction; food in 17 categories so purchasers can compare purchases and catering services; transportation; energy; computers and other office equipment; clothing and uniforms; paper and printing; furniture; cleaning products; and health sector equipment. The EU is also developing common green purchasing requirements for 19 product groups and has published a “Buying Green Handbook.” India. As India continues its rapid modernization efforts, green purchasing is growing in importance. A proposed 2012 law to formalize government procurement processes addresses purchase price, the costs of operating and maintaining products and product performance, including an explicit reference to the environmental characteristics of the products. India has an active Green Purchasing Network and is launching an India Green Building Council to develop green building standards. Indian companies are certifying products to international green standards to meet internal and international demand. Godrej, India’s largest furniture manufacturer, for example, has certified products to the UL GREENGUARD indoor air quality standard to meet demand from hotels, hospitals and consumers in India and its customers abroad. Japan. In 2000, Japan passed its first green purchasing law requiring the federal and local governments to buy greener products and services. The resulting policies identified )=J@-NE@AJKSD=O=J+'- KJPN=?P SDE?DIA=JOSARA 246 items in 19 product and service =HNA=@U@KJAPDA>E@BKNUKQ4AKBBANKRANLNK@Q?POBKN categories covered by the law, =LLHE?=PEKJON=JCEJCBNKIH=J@O?=LEJC=J@OLKNPOBEAH@O PK including paper, office furniture, office CN=RAHLNAL=N=PEKJ=J@NK=@OE@AI=EJPAJ=J?A !EREOEKJKB machines, phones, appliances, air $NA=P-H=EJO*BC &J? 3EOEPH=J@LNE@A?KIPKHK?=PAUKQNJA=NAOP@A=HAN =J@ 0=HEJ= (=JO=O conditioners, water heaters, vehicles, $APIKNASKNG@KJASEPD)=J@-NE@ALNK@Q?POPDA+'- SSSH=J@LNE@A?KI fire extinguishers, clothing, buildings and public works projects. One-hundred percent of Japanese federal government’s purchases, 88 percent of cities’, and 68 percent of towns’ and villages’ purchases

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