Board of Education Incorporates Eco-Friendly Purchasing Policies

Last week, the Board of Education unanimously approved an "environmentally preferable purchasing" policy for the school district.

As stated, the purpose of the new purchasing policy is to procure "goods and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing goods and services that have the same purpose."

The previous policy had language committing the district would work to effectively equip schools with necessary materials and to acquire them by using as little taxpayer money as possible.

The revised wording now states that purchasing activity will "ensure that, whenever possible, non-toxic products are purchased and used in all schools, so as to protect the health and welfare of our students and staff."

Last January, Linda Purvis, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Steve Frantz, Sustainability Director, took part in the schools portion of the "How Green is My Town?" survey. The questionnaire assessed the extent to which Scarsdale schools have incorporated environmentally conscious practices.

Conducted by Pace University students in conjunction with Grassroots Environmental Education, a Long Island-based nonprofit, the survey included all Westchester County municipalities.

While the district received a score of 72 percent, the change in its purchasing policy language increases that score to almost 80 percent.

The survey gave the district half credit for instituting a "comprehensive green purchasing policy," which it has now remedied with the incorporation of specific eco-friendly purchasing mandates.

The policy now includes consideration of how raw materials are acquired, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, disposal, energy efficiency, product performance, and durability.

The survey also gave the district no credit for exclusively using paints stains, finishes, and adhesives with low levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds). The Environmental Protection Agency warns consumers that some products containing VOCs "are suspected of causing, or are known to cause, cancer in humans."

The new purchasing policy, though, would prohibit the purchasing of such potentially harmful items.

Though the school district is mandated by state law to comply with competitive bidding procedures on contracts of $35,000 or more, the new eco-friendly purchasing mandates will include paper, soaps, and other items used in schools.

Because the district's custodial supplies are procured through bidding, cleaning products aren't subject to the new eco-friendly purchasing policy. However, according to Purvis, "the cleaning supplies are non-toxic and meet the Green Seal standards."

Green Seal is a non-profit organization that works to assess product sustainability and toxicity on the basis of scientific testing and international standards.