Developing priorities for greener state government purchasing: a California case study

State purchasing data can provide valuable information, in combination with a systematic ranking methodology, for prioritizing environmentally preferable purchasing efforts. A team of researchers developed and applied a priority-setting tool for the State of California's Procurement Division, which considers purchase volume, environmental impacts, potential for improvement, and institutional factors such as existing state policies and upcoming contract renewals. Using state purchasing data, this method produced a ranked list of 58 product classes, divided into four general priority groups. The State of California selected three priority product classes for further analysis by the research team, leading to a list of recommended product brands. The process for developing a list of recommended general-purpose cleaners is described as an example.