The free-of-charge Green Procurement Code portal now contains structured links to online information and guidance on green procurement and sustainable development in different categories. Areas covered include energy, construction, information and support, IT and water.
The revamped portal will make it easier for companies to source green products and services via links to online directories of sustainable products and suppliers.
The original purpose of the code, launched in 2001, was to help create a market for recycled products. Relaunched in 2007, it now considers management and behavioural change as an important part of green procurement. It has also come to take into account broader environmental considerations of the process, such as energy efficiency, sustainable use of natural resources and emissions reduction.
According to the initiative, the purchasing power of all London-based companies "has huge potential to positively tackle the capital's waste problem, reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the Mayor of London's [Boris Johnson] target of cutting the capital's carbon emissions by 60% by 2025".
Organisations signing up to the Green Procurement Code must commit to reducing the environmental impact of their activities and "can be awarded bronze, silver or gold status as a mark of their success". Over 500 companies have signed up to the code since its relaunch in 2007.
A 2008 review of the project showed that its members purchased products worth €350 million from over 500 suppliers, "showing that there is real market demand for green products and services". Purchases included remanufactured printer cartridges, bags of fair trade tea, energy-efficient street lamps and recycled paper.
The review stressed that purchases of recycled paper alone resulted in "the equivalent savings of 36,958 trees, 5,000 m3 of landfill space and 65,214,107m3 of water".
