New York State Healthy and Green Procurement Act - Fall

The New York State Healthy and Green Procurement Act (S.3625) proposes integrating environmental and public health considerations into state procurement decisions. The legislation seeks to amend state finance, economic development, and environmental conservation laws to require that goods and services purchased by New York State minimize toxic exposures, reduce environmental impacts, and stimulate green market development. The report identifies key procurement categories—paper, vehicles, buildings, and electronics—as major sources of persistent bioaccumulative toxins, greenhouse gas emissions, and hazardous waste. Particular concern is given to chlorine bleaching in paper production, vehicular emissions, energy-intensive building materials, and toxic components in electronic waste.

Assuming passage of the Act, the workshop designed an implementation strategy centered on establishing a Healthy and Green Procurement Office within the Office of General Services. The proposed program includes inventorying existing procurement practices, developing environmental criteria, establishing minimum sustainability specifications, and implementing a monitoring and evaluation framework. The design incorporates staffing plans, budgeting projections, performance indicators, and a first-year implementation calendar. By leveraging New York’s purchasing power—approximately $8 billion annually—the program aims to protect public health, reduce long-term costs, and drive innovation in green product markets.

Learn more about the MPA-ESP Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Management.