Scope
This information sheet presents the sustainble purchasing criteria applicable to green space landscape design and maintenance activities (i.e. the manual and mechanical interventions to maintain the proper appearance and functions of green spaces).
The information sheet lists sustainable purchasing criteria for these products:
- Pesticides
- Fertilizers and by-products of organic waste management (e.g. compost)
- Plants and plant products
- Mulch
- Maintenance equipment (e.g. mowers and trimmers)
The sheet also includes sustainable purchasing criteria to select services suppliers.
Finally, the information sheet describes best practices for lawn care and landscape watering.
This information sheet was developed by life cycle assessment experts Quantis Canada and Groupe AGÉCO. The content was edited by the CIRAIG, RECYC-QUÉBEC and ECPAR members. It is important to note that similar information sheets, including those produced by Acheteur Durable, were taken into consideration. See the References section for further details.
Did you know
- According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, almost 95% of lawn pesticides are considered to be potentially carcinogenic products.
- According to Environment Canada, using a gas-powered lawn mower for one hour generates as much pollution as driving 550 km in a car. While electric and rechargeable mowers create fewer environmental impacts, a push mower remains the most sustainable option.
- Grasscycling is a grass recovery technique that leaves the clippings on the ground after mowing. The practice provides key nutrients for the lawn, including up to 30% of its nitrogen requirements.
- Ecocert, a French certification organization, has created the ÈVE® label for sustainble green space management and maintenance practices. The certification includes a series of best practices that should be promoted. While the scope of the program is international, to date, no North American projects have been certified. ECPAR purchasing agents and requisitioners should apply these best practices and foster their adoption by the suppliers and internal teams.
- A report by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) revealed that, in addition to negatively affecting the surrounding ecosystem, invasive plants cost Canada some $2.2B annually due to the damage caused by weeds and the efforts to inhibit their spread on agricultural lands and pastures.
- Green spaces and landscaped areas in urban settings effectively counter the heat island effect.
Best practices
Before considering sustainable development criteria to select landscape design and maintenance products or services, requisitioners and purchasing agents can reduce the impacts of their procurement by adopting a series of best practices to:
- Rethink the need
- Provide a framework for the context in which an activity is carried out
- Consider the 3R-R approach
Rethink the need: adopting an adapted green space management plan
Requisitioners and purchasing agents can considerably reduce the environmental impacts of green space maintenance by rethinking the need. In order to do so, they must adopt a new vision for green spaces based on adapted management by implementing tailored plans for each space and maintenance efforts according to a space’s use, geographic location and type. Certain areas may be left to grow wild while others must be maintained for regular public use.
To foster changes in thinking and behaviour with regards to green spaces, a genuine communication strategy is required. Users must be aware that the new maintenance efforts are driven by sustainability (to reduce the environmental impacts) rather than a lack of maintenance.
Adapted green space management also aims to preserve spontaneous vegetation as part of biodiversity conservation.
Various steps—especially those to characterize the green spaces and redefine practices—must precede the application of such strategies.
Provide a framework for the context in which an activity is carried out
- Several best practices will make landscape maintenance activities more sustainable:
- Whenever possible, select locally-grown native plant species, which are better adapted to the environment and require less maintenance.
- Consider guidelines for sustainable landscaping (www.sustainablesites.org).
- Adequately trim plants, shrubs and trees on a regular basis to ensure they remain healthy and do not require replacement.
- Use plant-based mulch to limit weed growth and increase water and nutrient retention.
- Avoid planting invasive species, since they are one of the major causes of biodiversity loss.
- Adopt these best watering practices:
a. Design a rainwater collection system to store and use the water
b. Do not water in intense sunshine or wind
c. Water at night (use a sprinkler system)
d. Use the proper watering system (size) and ensure it carries water directly to the plants (drip system)
- Limit the use of plant protection products (pesticides) as much as possible by:
- adopting integrated pest management principles (for trained professionals only)
- relying on biological control (introduction of predatory species)
Consider the 3R-R approach
Requisitioners and purchasing should rethink the need and consider the 3R-R approach—reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery—before making a purchase. The 3R-R approach hierarchizes the strategies to ensure ecological waste management. In the procurement phase, it is possible to make source reductions and foster the reuse of products before they are recovered or recycled.
Good 3R-R practices for landscape design and management include:
Avant d’inclure des spécifications de développement durable dans la sélection de produits ou de services reliés aux activités d’aménagement et d’entretien paysager, les requérants et acheteurs peuvent réduire les impacts de leurs achats en adoptant un ensemble de bonnes pratiques consistant à :
- repenser le besoin;
- encadrer le contexte de réalisation de l’activité;
- prendre en considération l’approche des 3RV.
| THE 3R-R | |
|---|---|
Reduction |
-Disinfect tools to eliminate spores and bacteria
-Eliminate infested or diseased plants
-Remove weeds before they produce seeds
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Reuse |
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Recycling and recovering |
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Economic issues
Cost overrun to purchase sustainable landscaping products and services
Purchasing fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides for organic farming can lead to cost overrun1.
Running costs savings
Adapted green space management, which relies on interventions selected according to the specific characteristics of a particular green space and minimizes the number of interventions, can lead to significant savings.
1
Source (in french) : FABQ (2005). La fertilisation organique des cultures. Consulté le 29 juillet 2014, Tiré de http://www.agrireseau.qc.ca/agriculturebiologique/documents/Brochure%20f...
Priority criteria
In the following table, the priority sustainable purchasing criteria for landscape design and maintenance activities are listed in the first column. The criteria constitute priorities because they pertain to the most impactful environmental and social issues in the life cycles of the activities.
The information that should be required from suppliers to demonstrate that their product(s) meet these criteria is listed in the second column.
For further details on the key sustainable development issues surrounding these products, see the Rationale and additional information section of this sheet.
Please note that all the criteria are of equal weighting. No one criterion is more important than another.
| sustainable purchaising criteria | Information to be obtained from the supplier |
|---|---|
Low impact plant protection products (pesticides/herbicides)
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Low impact fertilizers
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Overall environmental performance of the landscaping/maintenance projectThe ÈVE® certification attests to best practices in green space management. To date (August 2014), no North American project has been certified by the program. Still, the criteria constitute an ideal to attain and promote for all ECPAR members seeking to demonstrate their commitment and assert their leadership.
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Certfication
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Plant grown according to sustainability standards
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Certification
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Native and local plants
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Lists and origins of the species that will be used and attestation that they are indigenous 1
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Energy-efficient maintenance equipement (e.g mowrs, edge trimmers, blowers, etc.)
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Plant-based mulch
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Overall environmental performance of the services supplier
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Currently, there is no certification. Require an attestation of the supplier’s best practices. |
Purchasing from social economy enterprises
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Refer to the list of social economy enterprises in the Rationale and additional information section |
1 Require that the suppliers confirm the types of plants that will be supplied and refer to the tools that are available:
Natural ressources canada for maps to determine hardiness zones for regional species and the canadian Botanical Conservation Network for a list of invasive species
Additional criteria
The additional criteria allow taking into account issues that are important but not the most significant from the life cycle perspective. Part of a sustainble purchasing approach, these criteria are aimed at purchasing agents and requisitioners who want to take further steps in the consideration of sustainable development.
| Sustainable purchasing criteria | INFORMATION to be obtained from the supplier |
|---|---|
Sustainable packaging (plants, fertilizers)
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Type of packaging: bulk or not, monolayer or not, recycled content or not, certified content or not, recyclable or not
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Sustainable supplier procurement practices for non-strategic goods
1. Specifications set out in the Computers information sheet
2. Specifications set out in the Printers information sheet
3. Specifications set out in the Paper information sheet
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For each relevant purchasing category, require proof of compliance with the environmental specifications set out in the ECPAR’s information sheets. |
Eco-responsible transportation management
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For each relevant purchasing category, require proof of compliance with the environmental specifications set out in the ECPAR’s information sheets.
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Eco-responsible work apparel (whenever applicable)
Priority criteria: Overall environmental performance, organic certification, recycled content and service life
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See the Work apparel information sheet for a complete list of applicable certifications |
Life cycle
The following table describes the environmental hot spots (critical aspects) and social issues in the life cycles of activities in the landscaping design and maintenance sector. It constitutes a summary analysis of the main environmental and social impacts.
The determination of the hot spots is based on a literature review of life cycle analyses of the products considered here as well as figures from the ecoinvent database, which compiles environmental information on the life cycles of several thousand industrial products and processes.
| Description | Synthetic inputs | Other raw materials | transport | horticultural practices | end of life |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The acquisition of manufacturing materials (resource extraction, fibres and other consumables) generates 40 to 70% of impacts |
Horticultural equipment manufacturing generates almost 10% of the impacts |
Impacts generated by the GHG emissions caused by transport and packaging | 15 to 60% of impacts are generated by horticultural operations and practices | Waste management impacts |
Voici un tableau decrivant les enjeux plus en détails:
| Synthetic imputs | other raw materials | TRANSPORT | horticultural practices | end of life | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Manufacturing plant | Transports | Recovery, transport, recycling and/or landfilling | ||
| Contribution to issues |
Very significant (40 % to 70 %)
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Minor (1 %) | Very significant (15 to 60 %) | Minor (5 %) | |
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List of social economy enterprises
coming soon
Certifications
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References