ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the process of evaluating and comparing the environmental impact of goods and services purchased by local authorities, and identifying ways of reducing these environmental impacts. It is divided into four parts, dealing in turn with the methodology of the purchase audit, the principles for developing environmental purchasing policies, the effect of green consumerism on purchasing and the environment, and the terms of reference for a purchase audit. Environmental purchasing policies should be based on the selection of products with the least environmental impact during the entire life cycle of the product. This approach, known as life cycle analysis (LCA), is used to assess the environmental impacts of products for the EU ecolabel. The chapter looks at the effect of green consumerism on purchasing and the environment and, in particular, the extent to which green consumer guides and ecolabels can affect purchasing patterns and environmental impact.
