Define green procurement.

• A. Procuring only digital services to reduce paper use.
• B. Purchasing goods and services with reduced environmental impact and higher sustainability performance.
• C. Buying the cheapest available products regardless of impact.
• D. Selecting vendors based on political affiliations.

Answer: (B)

Green procurement is about weaving environmental considerations into purchasing decisions so that the goods and services bought have less environmental impact and better sustainability performance over their life cycle. It goes beyond price or features to evaluate how a product is produced, used, and disposed of, including factors like energy efficiency, recyclability, and the supplier’s environmental practices.

The best choice captures this broader, lifecycle-oriented aim. It states that purchases should have reduced environmental impact and higher sustainability performance, which is the essence of green procurement.

The other options miss the bigger picture: focusing only on digital services to cut paper is too narrow and misses broader environmental criteria; choosing the cheapest option disregards lifecycle costs and environmental effects; and selecting vendors based on political affiliations is not related to environmental performance.