Pushing California to buy clean for the climate

One of Sierra Club California’s major campaigns for 2017 focuses on getting the state to use its purchasing power in a way that’s consistent with our goals to reduce climate-disrupting pollution.

The campaign, called “Buy Clean”, was conceived by Blue Green Alliance, which is a coalition of environmental organizations and labor unions. Sierra Club was among the original members of Blue Green Alliance when it was founded a decade ago, and Sierra Club Executive Director Mike Brune currently serves as its co-chair.

Sierra Club California has teamed up with Blue Green Alliance’s California team to incorporate the Buy Clean approach into California’s state procurement policies.

The Buy Clean approach got a big push when Assembly members Rob Bonta and Susan Eggman jointly introduced Assembly Bill 262 on February 1.

That bill would require that state agencies that contract for big infrastructure projects, plus the University of California, and the California State University system, take into consideration the greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain when they’re reviewing bids for those projects.

It combines information disclosure and purchasing requirements to recognize manufacturers who produce the least amount of climate pollution while making any of five products: cement, steel, glass, insulation and asphalt.

On launch day, the bill’s supporters represented labor, manufacturing, environmental, environmental justice, and health groups.

Over the next month, Sierra Club California staff and volunteers will be helping refine the bill and building the support list before it goes to its first committee hearing in March.

The Buy Clean bill will be one of the priority bills for in-district lobbying. You can learn more about the Buy Clean Campaign on the buycleancalifornia.org website.

If you’d like to get involved in helping your chapter or group learn more about the Buy Clean Campaign, or if you’d like to get involved in in-district lobbying for the Buy Clean bill, contact Meg Gunderson in our office at Meg.Gunderson@sierraclub.org.