Green Purchasing Guide for state agencies

The Green Purchasing Guide includes:

• An overview of state green purchasing laws, policies and executive orders.
• Checklists and questionnaires for identifying green purchases.
• Sample certifications and labels.
• Boilerplate language for incorporating green goods and services into solicitations and contracts.

Download the Green Purchasing Guide:

• Washington State Green Purchasing Guide (PDF, 3MB)

Green purchasing specifications

We’ve provided green purchasing specifications as a starting point for procurement and purchasing staff. They are organized by category, and each product-specific specification includes state policies, laws and third-party environmental certifications and standards.

Purchasers can copy and paste the specifications into solicitations as mandatory bid or purchasing requirements, price preferences, and additional desirable best value attributes. Purchasers can also refer to these specifications to guide purchasing decisions.

Building construction and maintenance products

• Adhesives and sealants
• Carpet
• Ceiling tiles
• Cement and concrete
• Compost
• Drywall, fiberboard, gypsum panels, wallboard
• Flooring
• Heavy duty construction equipment
• Insulation
• Lab equipment
• Lubricants
• Paint (not including interior virgin latex)
• Paint primers
• Paint removers/thinners
• Plumbing
• Portable toilets and handwash stations
• Restroom and shower dividers/partitions
• Roofing

Cleaning equipment

• Concentrated cleaning chemicals
• Floor maintenance chemicals
• Hand cleaners
• Hand dryers
• Hand sanitizers
• Janitorial paper products
• Plastic bags
• Ready to use cleaning chemicals
• Surface disinfectants (nonfood contact)
• Vacuum cleaners

Electronic equipment

• Appliances
• Communications equipment
• Computer equipment
• Imaging equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions
• Television
• Wireless computer components

Energy-related equipment

• Batteries and flashlights
• Electricity
• Heating equipment
• Motors
• Power generators and storage systems

Fleet equipment

• Brakes
• Car cleaning chemicals
• Electric vehicle charging stations
• Engine coolant
• Fuel
• Motor oil
• Solvents and degreasers
• Tires
• Vehicles
• Wheel weights

Food service equipment

• Beverages
• Food
• Food service equipment
• Food service gloves
• Food service ware
• Napkins
• Straws and stirrers

Medical equipment

• Examination gloves
• Medical equipment and supplies

Office supplies

• Air dusters
• Copy paper
• Envelopes
• File folders
• Markers
• Mats
• Non-paper office supplies
• Notebooks and notepads
• Office furniture
• Pens and pencils
• Sticky notes, easel pads
• Toner and ink cartridges
• Whiteboard cleaners

Outdoor products

• Asphalt sealants
• Concrete and cement
• De-icers
• Firefighting agents and personal protective equipment
• Irrigation equipment
• Landscape materials
• Landscaping timbers and posts
• Raised pavement markers
• Signage
• Traffic zone marking

Green purchasing templates and tools for state agencies

• Vendor green products reporting template (Excel, 1MB)
• Vendor green products price sheet template (Excel, 1MB)
• Procurement definitions (Excel, 1MB)
• Washington State Green Cleaning Toolkit (PDF, 7.92MB)
• Washington State Reducing Single-Use Plastics and Solid Waste Toolkit (PDF, 497.13KB)
• Environmental Preference Bidder Certification (PDF 225KB)
• Green Purchasing Best Value Survey Questions for Bidders (PDF 337KB)
• Green Purchasing Questions for Procurement Coordinators (PDF 249KB)

Electric vehicles

• Electric vehicle statewide contract
• Vehicle purchasing for state agencies

State Efficiency & Environmental Performance

• State Efficiency & Environmental Performance (commerce.wa.gov)
• Executive Order 20-01  (PDF, governor.wa.gov)

Green purchasing in Washington state

• Greening Washington through Environmentally Preferred Purchasing - Annual Report 2022 (PDF, 2MB)
• Greening Washington through Environmentally Preferred Purchasing - Annual Report 2023 (PDF, 549KB)