Last week, the Environmental Daily Advisor discussed green purchasing, DOE's Better Plants challenge, and food waste.

Here's the Environmental Daily Advisor week in review.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing – The Greening of Procurement--More and more public and private procurement systems practice environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) and require that their vendors do the same. Here we look at basic components required in a comprehensive EPP and tomorrow, we will review EPP resources as they continue to evolve.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Still Evolving--Environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) can help businesses meet sustainability goals and qualify for new business opportunities. Although not a new concept, the expansion of EPP has created numerous organizations and programs to define, develop, and certify EPP practices. Take a look at some EPP resources, new and old.

DOE’s Better Plants Challenge on Track to BIG Energy Savings--In late 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) threw down the gauntlet to manufacturers across the United States inviting them to join its “Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge” program. The program is the second half of President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative that has a goal of reducing energy use by 20% in both the commercial and industrial sectors by 2020.

Finding Solutions to Food Waste--According to the U.S. Department of Agricultural (USDA), approximately 30% to 40% of food is wasted worldwide. In the United States an estimated 133 billion pounds of food worth $161 million was wasted at retail stores, restaurants, and individual homes in 2010. In the same year, landfilled food waste tipping fees topped $2 million. Food waste currently ranks as the number one component of municipal solid waste sent to landfills. Wasted food also contributes significantly to global warming via the potent greenhouse gas methane that is produced when it decomposes.