and compatibility with a low-carbon world”
Links to Useful Websites
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme)
Works in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to help businesses and individuals reap the benefits of reducing waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an efficient way.
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MBDC
Cradle to CradleŽ Certification is a multi-attribute eco-label that assesses a product’s safety to humans and the environment and design for future life cycles. The program provides guidelines to help businesses implement the Cradle to Cradle framework, which focuses on using safe materials that can be disassembled and recycled as technical nutrients or composted as biological nutrients.
Unlike single-attribute eco-labels, MBDC’s certification program takes a comprehensive approach to evaluating the sustainability of a product and the practices employed in manufacturing the product. The materials and manufacturing practices of each product are assessed in five categories: Material Health, Material Reutilization, Renewable Energy Use, Water Stewardship, and Social Responsibility.
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FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)
FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. Established in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation, FSC is a pioneer forum where the global consensus on responsible forest management convenes and through democratic process effects solutions to the pressures facing the world’s forests and forest-dependent communities.
Within this forum, voices from the Global North and South, from organizations big and small, assemble to define environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management and identify the tools and resources that will effect positive, lasting change.
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PEFC
The world's largest forest certification system. Our credible standards seek to transform the way forests are managed globally – and locally - to ensure that all of us can enjoy the environmental, social and economic benefits that forests offer.
With alternative forest and chain of custody certification options available, there are good reasons why so many forest owners and managers, business and consumers are opting for PEFC. Our approach to certification contains a number of unique features that have helped to make us the largest and one of the most credible forest certification systems globally.
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CWM (Center of Waste Management)
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi will be recognised as a world leader in sustainable and integrated solid waste management. The Government of Abu Dhabi has set out its commitment to improving waste management across the Emirate by establishing the Center of Waste Management (CWM).
Established in December 2008, the Center is the lead agency responsible for controlling and coordinating waste management activities throughout the Emirate. This includes implementing the Waste Management Strategy and all aspects of service delivery required to establish a full cycle integrated waste management system.
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WWF - Living Planet Report
The Living Planet Report is the world's leading, science-based analysis on the health of our only planet and the impact of human activity. Its key finding? Humanity's demands exceed our planet's capacity to sustain us. That is, we ask for more than what we have.
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Breathing Earth
Global warming (aka climate change) is almost without a doubt the most important issue to face our generation, and quite possibly any generation in history. The worldwide scientific community is virtually unanimous in its agreement that global warming is happening, that it's our fault, and that our chance to stop it is slipping away. If we let it get out of our control, the consequences - which will already begin occuring in most of our lifetimes - will be catastrophic.
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Energy Star
A program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that sets energy-efficiency standards for computers, monitors, printers, and other appliances and certifies green buildings.
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Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) helps the U.S. federal government "buy green". The database includes green contract language and specifications, voluntary standards and guidelines, and other practical information.
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Eurocities
The CARPE (Cities As Responsible Purchasers in Europe) project brings together Eurocities members - Paris, Stockholm, Seville, … - in exploring opportunities for adopting social and environmental criteria in their procurement practices.
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European Union Eco-Label
A voluntary scheme to help consumers in Europe identify officially approved green products.
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Global Compact
The Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labor standards, the environment, and anti-corruption.
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Global Ecolabelling Network
The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) is a non-profit association of third-party, environmental performance recognition, certification and labelling organizations founded in 1994 to improve, promote, and develop the "ecolabelling" of products and services.
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Good Environmental Choice label
The Good Environmental Choice (GEC) label is awarded to products which meet specific environmental standards based on life cycle assessment by a third party. More information
Green Public Procurement Training Toolkit
The Green Public Procurement Training Toolkit designed for use by procurement trainers or for integration in general public procurement training courses.
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Green Seal
An independent organization that certifies and promotes green products and services and works with manufacturers, industry, purchasing groups, and governments to green the production and purchasing chain.
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INFORM
Research organization that provides information on ways to reduce the environmental impacts of the U.S. economy through improved product design and greener purchasing.
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The Blue Angel
The Blue Angel is the oldest environment-related label for products and services in the world. It was created in 1978. The Blue Angel (Blauer Engel) is a German certification for products and services that have environmentally friendly aspects.
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The Swan Label
Swan is the official Nordic ecolabel, introduced by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Swan logo demonstrates that a product is a good environmental choice. It is available for around 60 product groups such as cleaning products.
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World Trade Organisation
There are three main aspects of the WTO's work on government procurement: Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) signed by WTO members, work on transparency in government procurement and multilateral negotiations on services procurement.
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