The Commission approved a Green Procurement Policy as part of the continued effort to implement the TTC’s Environmental Plan. The new policy, approved on July 10, means that, in addition to standard quality, performance and price considerations, the TTC will take into full consideration the environmental footprint of the product or service that is being purchased without sacrificing safety standards.

The TTC spends hundreds of millions of dollars for a large variety of goods and services each year, which range from common items, such as stationary and cleansers to highly specialized products and services unique to its operations, says Materials and Procurement Manager Sandy MacDonald.

“With the formal adoption of this policy, there will be a concerted effort across the whole of the TTC to purchase products and services that are produced, distributed and disposed of with the least environmental impact while maintaining existing performance, quality and safety standards,” he says.

To implement the policy effectively, the TTC will embark on an ambitious program of training its staff on how to factor-in environmental considerations in making their purchasing decisions over the next eight months and departments will be required to include goals and objectives related to implementing Green Procurement practises in their 2010 Operating and Capital Budgets, as applicable.

Specialized training is being conducted for staff who are directly involved in purchasing for their respective units throughout the TTC. In addition to that, employees will be equipped with special tools to help analyze products to identify those that have the least environmental impact.  

While green purchasing has been in practice in a variety of large organizations for sometime, the TTC is breaking new ground with an explicit green procurement policy and an ambitious implementation plan.