The Green Standard Announces First Class of
Green Purchasing Accredited Professionals™
Chapel. Hill, N.C.-Twenty professionals in the building field are adding a new credential to their business cards and website- Green Purchasing Accredited Professional™. This communicates to their clients and others that they have acquired knowledge of best practices in green product evaluation and procurement, an expertise of growing importance as businesses, educational institutions and government agencies seek to measure their carbon footprints, reduce their costs and report their environmental risks.
New U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission risk reporting directives and new federal procurement directives on greenhouse gas reduction are making science-based knowledge of a product’s environmental performance essential. As over 60% of most corporate and government budgets is spent on procuring products and services, the ROI of using best green purchasing practices is high.
The first class of Green Purchasing Accredited Professionals™ (“GPAPs”) includes property managers and sourcing specialists with CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest real estate management firm; designers with BNIM Architects, a leader in green building design and a diverse group of other firms involved in the building industry. They have completed six online courses and a 56-question exam developed by The Green Standard, a green purchasing leader known for its work in translating science-based information into user-friendly formats.
We’ve had over 60 professionals participate in the test program of our “On-line Anytime" training and the comments received have been overwhelmingly positive” says Wes Evans, Director of Training. Below are some of the comments we received:
“The expert instructors of The Green Standard’s Green Purchasing AP Program provide a clear set of processes and new tools to elevate the sustainability of your project and operations,” reports Brad Nies, Director of Elements, BNIM Architects.
“I attended Greenbuild for two years running and NeoCon for the past 14 years. At these gatherings I attended every workshop or seminar on the metrics and certifications of sustainability that was offered. I was overwhelmed by organizations names, their missions and logos. However, it was not until I studied the Green Purchasing Accredited Professional™ program that I understood the work of these organizations and how their efforts fit into a larger framework.” writes Hannah Rae Roth, Lecturer, School of Architecture, Washington University.
“It is invaluable to be able to have all the knowledge behind all the certifications in order to educate my clients so they know what they are purchasing and that they are not being “green washed” comments Tiffany Lamoreux, Interior Designer for Tiffany Baca Design.
“I like the accessibility of the program and the fact that we can refer back to it as we learn” says Michelle Pollak, President of The Lollipop Tree, Inc.
“This program underscores CBRE's commitment to developing an effective and forward-thinking framework for product evaluation that can work in any market environment. Our managers are dedicated to procurement processes that are both fiscally prudent and environmentally sound for our clients." reports Jeremy Benkin, Procurement Director for CB Richard Ellis Asset Services Group.
Benkin and other leaders in green purchasing will be discussing the ROI from investing in education and technology on green purchasing at a forum on April 28-29 in Washington, D.C. on THE NEW WAY TO DEFINE GREEN, co-hosted by The Green Standard and the Institute for Construction and the Environment in Germany. The target audience for this two-day event is manufacturers of building products and the goal is to help them use next generation tools to achieve an ROI on green product development.
For the past 10 years, The Green Standard has been at the forefront of providing manufacturers and purchasers with education and training on environmentally-friendly product standards. Previous successes include a major exhibit on green building construction and product selection for EPA and development of The Green Guide to NeoCon, a green procurement guide produced for the world’s largest interior products expo.
“Rather than developing standards or certifying products ourselves" notes Deborah Dunning, president of The Green Standard, "we have chosen to provide manufacturers and purchasers with the education and training on best practices in product eco-design, manufacture, evaluation and use, including programs developed by a range of organizations.” She adds, “Our operation of an Environmental Product Declaration Program is an extension of this approach, as these tools list and link to product standards, certification programs and eco-labels achieved. An EPD is a comprehensive tool, featuring comprehensiveness and transparency.”
The Green Purchasing Accredited Professional Training™ encompasses diverse training tools and provides an efficient framework for use of green procurement standards and eco-Iabels; industry-specific standards and certification programs; and multiple- and single attribute eco-Iabels. The six modules are supplemented by case studies and a comprehensive 56 question exam which participants must pass to be accredited and have the use of the GPAP designation.
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