Adopt a sustainable purchasing policy or administrative guidelines/practices directing that the city purchase at least:

Policies

• The content and structure of your EPP policy will depend on your organization’s needs and priorities. At the very least, a good EPP policy should encompass six Key Components developed in 2013 by a Minnesota network of environmental and purchasing staff from county and city governments, coordinated by the MPCA.
• Learn more about sustainable purchasing generally at the MPCA sustainable purchasing program website.
• The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council provides guidance and resources, including a simple Model Policy. 
• The Sustainable Purchasing Resources for Businesses and Public Agencies (StopWaste) includes tools, guides, and policy resources to help organizations in Alameda County, CA make purchasing decisions that strengthen the environment, society, and economy but the resources can help any community. 
• ICLEI’s Sustainable and Circular Public Procurement Toolkit is designed to guide governments step-by-step through the policy creation and adoption process and into effective implementation and monitoring.  
• Need to garner support? Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program (Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, 2014)

Paper & Printing

• Minnesota state law (Minn. Stat. 16C.073) requires all public entities to follow environmentally preferable printing practices, including use of chlorine-free, uncoated paper with a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content, among other requirements.
• Recycled-content paper is covered in the MN Pollution Control Agency's EPP web page. 
• Buying paper in bulk/with others can bring the cost of 30% recycled content paper down to the cost of virgin paper. 
• Coupled with paper use reduction strategies (Yale) and purchase of monochrome high-yield remanufactured toner cartridges, this GreenStep action will save you money. 
• A paper calculator can help you calculate the impacts of paper reduction.

Electronics & Appliances

• Purchasing more sustainable IT products and appliances - for example, products with greater lifespans and energy efficiency - is more cost effective in many cases. 
• Products with EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) or U.S. EPA-sponsored EnergyStar registration can provide these benefits. Both certification websites allow purchasers to evaluate, compare and select electronic products based on their environmental attributes. 
• See also MPCA's sustainable procurement web page.

Purchasing Programs

• Minnesota's Cooperative Purchasing Venture highlights state contracts in place that directly reduce the adverse environmental impacts of purchased goods and services. Governments can access the State of Minnesota purchasing contracts, all of which are competitively bid, in place for 1-5 years with price stability and often with extra performance or sustainability requirements. 
• The purchasing groups are Sourcewell and the Cooperative Purchasing Connection, formed in 1976 following legislation in Minnesota, by 8 school service cooperatives in the state to provide for the smallest schools, cities, counties, nonprofits and other governmental agencies.
• The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) is a global community of purchasers, suppliers, advocates, and experts committed to driving positive impact through the power of procurement. SPLC provides training, networking, guidance, and custom roadmaps.