Sustainable Purchasing

The city recognizes that the products and services the city buys have inherent social, health, and environmental impacts, and that the city should make procurement decisions that further the city's commitment to sustainability. Effective January 1, 2018, Chapter 329 of the Columbus City Code was amended to improve the implementation of policies and procedures designed to require the procurement of materials, supplies, equipment, construction and services that have a lesser or reduced negative impact on human health and the environment when compared to competing materials, supplies, equipment, construction and services that serve the same purpose.

The Code requires City agencies to develop specifications for the purchase of environmentally preferable products or services ("EPPS") unless a determination is made there is not an acceptable EPPS for such good or services. The director of finance and management shall, where practicable, establish default EPPS specifications for goods and services and may waive such specifications on a case-by-case basis. For goods and services that are of a specialized or unique nature, city departments shall develop EPPS specifications on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with the director of finance and management.