Sustainable Purchasing

Summary & Connection

Public Procurement across all levels of government in the United States accounts for more than 23% of the United States Gross National Product through the annual acquisition of more than $2.3 trillion in goods and services. Being almost one quarter of the gross national product, governments wield monetary and symbolic influence, and bear responsibility to ensure that purchasing practices support public values. Sustainable purchasing (also called environmentally preferable purchasing, or EPP) is an effort to spend public funds on goods and services that minimize negative environmental impacts, are fair and socially just, and make economic sense both now and in the long term. Leon County has worked consistently on making its purchases more sustainable and plans to adopt a Sustainable Procurement Strategy in the near future.