NIGP cultivates Green Knowledge Community
To unite experts and practitioners in the field of environmentally responsible procurement, a Green Knowledge Community was recently launched by the NIGP.
The initiative aims to develop, disseminate and promote information and resources regarding policy development, environmentally preferable products and social and economic responsibility in public procurement.
By participating in the community’s forums, purchasers can share information, success stories, best practices and challenges. The community works to raise awareness and inspire others to think, learn, develop and promote their own environmentally and socially responsible programs.
Participation in the community is free to all NIGP national members. To join the community, just follow the online instructions on NIGP’s Web site.
Leaders of the Green Knowledge Community currently include:
• Thomas Appleby, CPPO, CPPB, C.I.M.
Regional Municipality of York
Newmarket, Ontario
• Jeffrey Baer, CPPO, CPPB
City of Portland, Ore.
• Rocky Brannan, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M.
City of Yuma, Ariz.
• Scot Case
Terra Choice Marketing
Reading, Pa.
• Kitty Gilespie
Olympia, Wash.
• Matt Kittell
Center for a New American Dream
Takoma Park, Md.
• Connie Kuranko
U.S. Communities
Walnut Creek, Calif.
• Nancy Locke
City of Seattle
• Chris O’Brien
New American Dream/Responsible Sourcing
Purchasing Network
Takoma Park, Md.
• Joe Sandoval
County of Los Angeles
Resources empower professional connections
Besides offering an opportunity for year-round networking, the knowledge community offers resources such as dedicated list serves, live Webinars and topical face-to-face conferences covering issues most relevant to members’ needs.
Other knowledge communities offered by the NIGP include:
• e-procurement, in which members share information about practices, policies and procedures to harness technology and enhance procurement operations.
• K-12, to help those in public education tackle the latest challenges.
• PREP (Procurement’s Response to Emergency Preparedness), which allows member agencies to develop partnerships with other member agencies to assist in times of emergency.
Goals of all the knowledge communities are to establish and advance professional connections that can help purchasers increase their effectiveness and ability to support the public they serve.
For more information about the knowledge communities, visit http://www.nigp.org/ or call NIGP headquarters in Herndon, Va.: 703-736-8900.