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BEAM P
LUS FOR
E
XISTING
B
UILDINGS
S
ITE
A
SPECTS
(S
A
)
V
ERSION
1.2
S
A
P1 E
NVIRONMENTALLY
P
URCHASING
P
LAN
Copyright © 2012 BEAM Society Limited. All rights reserved.
Page 26
2
S
ITE
A
SPECTS
2.P
P
REREQUISITE
S
A
P1 E
NVIRONMENTALLY
P
URCHASING
P
LAN
E
XCLUSIONS
None.
O
BJECTIVE
Encourage purchasing practices which reduce the environmental impact
of products used in the operation and maintenance of buildings through
formulation of procedure or plan for achieving the purpose.
R
EQUIREMENT
Demonstrate that environmentally purchasing plan and procedure either
following their internal company guideline or other international
standards shall be in place.
A
SSESSMENT
The Client shall provide documentary evidence that purchasing plan and
procedure are in place to source, and where available at an economic
cost, to purchase materials, products and equipment which have no
significant negative impacts on the safety and health of employees and
building users, and have no significant negative impacts on the
environment. The documentary evidence shall include correspondence
with suppliers/potential suppliers, etc.
Purchasing plan shall include the use of:
durable materials, products and equipment; materials with low
embodied energy;
locally produced materials where available;
wood products from well-managed sources;
products which do not use CFCs, HCFCs, halons;
salvaged materials and components;
rapidly renewable materials;
durable materials;
furnishes; paints, adhesives, etc with low levels of emissions;
minimal packaging and/or recyclable packaging;
products having significant recyclable content;
products that are recyclable;
energy efficient appliances and equipment; and
water efficient appliances, etc.
B
ACKGROUND
An organisation’s purchasing practices should form part of environmental
management. Where major consumers include safety, health and
environmental considerations in purchasing decisions, the market place
does respond. BEAM encourages purchasing practices that promote the
supply and use of environmentally friendly products, materials and
equipment used in building operations and maintenance, redecoration,
fit-out, etc.
There are no well-defined criteria to label materials as green or
environmentally friendly although life-cycle analysis can be used to
assess materials and products. This involves the identification and
quantification of all of the raw materials and energy consumed in the
production, use, and disposal of the product, as well as pollutants and
by-products generated. Two of the most significant sources of