Governor Crist Announces Florida's Green Product List

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2007

GOVERNOR CRIST ANNOUNCES FLORIDA'S GREEN PRODUCT LIST

State government indentifies environmentally friendly products

TALLAHASSEE -- Governor Charlie Crist today announced that Florida state and local governmental purchasers now have access to the Florida Climate Friendly Products List, which includes over 6,680 environmentally preferable products available for purchase under Florida state term contracts. As part of Governor Crist's Executive Order 07-126, the Department of Management Services partnered with the Department of Environmental Protection to develop this list and encourage state agencies to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact.

"Reducing greenhouse gases in Florida begins with us as public servants," said Governor Crist. "Our commitment and focus on changing the way we do business means a sustainable future for our state."

The Department of Management Services invited all state term contract vendors to submit products currently on their state term contracts that met one or more of the green labels or standards (e.g., Energy Star, Green Seal) approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Criteria used to evaluate potential green product labels and standards included the degree of impartiality of the rating organization, the ability for buyers to independently verify vendors' claims of products that have been granted the label, and the relevance of the label / standard to the environment. Approved green products range from ice makers to office supplies, with more than 50 vendors having products included on the initial version of the list.

Government buyers are encouraged to use this list to find potential green products to meet their agency's needs. The Department of Management Services will promote the list through the online State Purchasing bulletin board, in communications with the Florida Association of Public Purchasing Officers and the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. The Florida Climate Friendly Products List will be updated frequently as approved green products are submitted by state term contract vendors to highlight their environmentally preferable products to Florida governmental buyers.

"The best way to change the way people shop is to make it easy for them to make smart choices," said Department of Management Services Secretary Linda H. South. "Given the volume of purchases made through MyFloridaMarketPlace, state government is a prime candidate to radically reduce its carbon footprint through simple product choices."

MyFloridaMarketPlace is being enhanced to flag approved green state term contract products that are listed in electronic catalogs with a globe icon to increase visibility of these products to state agency buyers using the system. The system will also allow buyers to search for approved green items to easily identify and purchase these products. Green product purchases will be reported monthly through MyFloridaMarketPlace. These reports will track the green products purchased by agency, vendor, commodity, state term contract, and agency purchasing site to monitor and manage the growth of purchased green products by state agencies.

Executive order 07-126 is one of three executive orders signed by Governor Crist at the Serve to Preserve Summit on Global Climate Change in July. For more information about Governor Crist's actions to address global climate change, please visit www.MyFloridaClimate.com or www.flgov.com. To view the Florida Climate Friendly Products List , click here.

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