With the Greening of state purchasing, it is likely that Green IT standards around data center consolidation, recycling of hardware, and virtualization will become more and more prevalent in the future.

This year's NASPO (National Association of State Procurement Officials) annual conference was held from April 6th to April 8th in the heart of New Orleans, LA. In attendance this year were procurement officials from 41 of 50 of the states. While numerous themes were presented at this years' conference, one in particular seemed to be highlighted repeatedly, and is anticipated to be more and more integral with state procurements in the future: Green Purchasing.

Even though it was mentioned in many of the conference's informative Regional Roundtable Discussions, attendees were able to learn a great deal about Green Purchasing in the hour-plus session "Green Purchasing and Recycling". Moderated by Diane Lancaster, Chief Procurement Officer, Oregon, with panelists Lee Johnson, Contract Manager, Oklahoma, Dmitriy Nikolayev, Procurement Manager, Massachusetts, Maureen McGuire, Procurement Manager, Ohio and Stephen Reksten, Assistant Director of the Division of Purchasing, Tennessee, this session touched on third party certifications and RFP specifications.

Ms. Lancaster and her panel discussed in great detail the benefits of Green Purchasing to the environment, as well as, that while her native Oregon has been "Green" for quite some time, other states are just starting to get their feet wet. On the other side of the U.S., Massachusetts has been "Green" for years as well, and their success in the field has led other states to take notice and follow in their foot steps. In Tennessee, for instance, vendors MUST be Green or Energy Star compliant to compete on the vast majority of their competitive bids. States like Oklahoma who are new to Green Purchasing have not yet had any detrimental executive orders or legislation passed to date on the subject, but anticipate that they will be coming down the pike in the very near future.

When Ms. Lancaster raised the question "What would help more Green Purchasing in the future?", the answers were, competitive pricing, credible information and a better selection on products and services. The panel tried to convey the importance of individual vendors having certification or compliance with some leaders in Eco-Labels, including: Energy Star, Green Seal, and Green-e. Ms. Lancaster and the panel went on to say that while being Green compliant is not a requirement on RFPs currently, it's certain that it will be in the years to come. The panel went on to say that while some vendors may be stubborn now by not accepting the "Green Revolution", they will only be hurting their business in the future by not doing so.