Clean Procurement Bill Campaign
Let’s Win a Clean County!
Allegheny County has a $1 billion budget. That money is used to buy vehicles and streetlights, build buildings, and pave roads. Thousands of choices get made every year by County departments that result in inefficient or fossil-fuel-powered items being purchased or constructed.
An ordinance has been proposed that would require County departments to consider sustainability and carbon emissions when buying or building just about anything. It’s modeled off of a similar ordinance in the City of Pittsburgh, but it’s actually stronger, in that it sets a hard, enforceable deadline for buying 100% clean electricity by 2028.
Let’s tell the Council to get it passed into law!
Feel free to customize the script below to say more about who you are and why this matters to you.
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Find your Council district here and then contact your Councilmember here.
Here’s what to say!
You should pick and choose from the bullet points below. Don’t use all the bullet points. Shorter comments are more effective.
Each public comment should be unique, so Council knows they are not spam emails.
You can also add personalized details about how this issue affects you & why you care about it.
My name is [name], and I live in [town]. I am contacting [Councilmember] to voice my strong support for Bill number 12184-22, which would update the County’s purchasing policies to take sustainability into account.
In the fight against the climate crisis, this ordinance is low-hanging fruit. The State Legislature restricts the County from regulating businesses, including big utilities, to be more sustainable. But the State cannot stop the County from spending its own money more wisely. This ordinance represents the easiest step the Council can take to reduce carbon emissions and clean up the air quality in our backyard.
The bill is fiscally responsible. Studies show that electric vehicles and LEDs save money in the long term, due to their reduced energy consumption.
Allegheny County’s $1 billion budget can send powerful market signals. The costs to manufacture electric vehicles, for example, are trending downward. As more and more are purchased, the processes to manufacture them become more efficient. We should encourage this trend. Right now, we are using our purchasing power to buy fossil fuels from companies that ruin our communities’ air quality, and to buy disposable plastics that end up in our rivers. The status quo is not neutral - our current policies promote fossil fuels.
Our air quality is among the worst in the country, with residents in 2021 experiencing 52 days where the air was not healthy to breathe, even for residents with no medical conditions, according to the Group Against Smog and Pollution. This ordinance alone would not fix our air quality, but it would be a solid first step.
Microplastics are showing up in increasing amounts in the bloodstreams of residents of Allegheny County. The County generates a staggering amount of plastic waste. By requiring its departments to not buy single use plastics where possible, and to consider recycled products, we will improve the quality of the water that our families drink.
The bill is thorough, considering almost all aspects of the way the County operates, and how they could be streamlined. It encourages the purchasing of recycled paper, clean electricity, efficient water fixtures, modern HVAC systems, and even cool, low-carbon, & permeable pavement. It also has built-in accountability measures, with a website that will track our progress and reviews toward our sustainability goals every 3 years.
Though the ordinance is bold, the County would not be going out on a limb in implementing it. It is nearly identical to the sustainable procurement policy that is already on the books in the City of Pittsburgh.
I am also glad that the County is holding a hearing on single-use plastics. Plastic waste is a global crisis, and most of the plastic that gets manufactured is completely unnecessary. I support local efforts to hold plastic manufacturers accountable.
The future our grandchildren will have to live in is the one that we build with our choices today.
As an Allegheny County resident, I would be proud to see our County lead by example on sustainability.
Please pass Bill number 12184-22 into law. Thank you for your time.