GERP training hub
Last updated on June 19, 2025Welcome to the training hub for the Guidelines for Environmentally Responsible Procurement (GERP). This page contains a variety of training materials that accompany the newly revised GERP website. These materials and exercises will help you to practice applying the guidelines to your work.
Practice activities
Work through these activities that will allow you to practice applying what you've learned to procurement scenarios. These activities will give you an idea of what it is like incorporating environmentally responsible procurement into your day to day work.
Practice activity 1 - designing environmentally responsible RFx questions
In this activity, you’ll read a series of RFx questions that could be part of a solicitation. Think about how to make them more environmentally friendly.
Guidelines for Environmentally Responsible Procurement practice activity 1
Practice activity 2 - incorporating environmentally responsible procurement into planning, solicitation & evaluation
In this activity, you’ll be given a potential procurement and a list of details the buyer wants to include in their solicitation. After reading the background information, look at the list of details. Decide if they belong in the planning, solicitation, or evaluation phases of the procurement.
Guidelines for Environmentally Responsible Procurement practice activity 2
Practice activity 3 - considering the life of a good/service
In this activity, you will see a list of different goods and services. Imagine you oversee purchasing and planning procurements. For each of the items, think about all the environmentally responsible factors you should consider throughout the entire life of the product or service.
Guidelines for Environmentally Responsible Procurement practice activity 3
Practice case studies
Work through these practice case studies that will take you through fictitious procurement scenarios. As you navigate each case study, you will have an opportunity to think about environmentally responsible procurement in different ways and then reflect with discussion questions for each.
Case study 1 - paper sourcing
Read this case study about buying paper products. Here, the buyer followed the rules for environmentally friendly purchasing. After reading the case study there are questions you can answer to check what you learned.
Guidelines for Environmentally Responsible Procurement case study 1
Case study 2 - environmentally responsible catering
Read this case study about procuring catering services. Here, the buyer used the Guidelines for Environmentally Sustainable Procurement to make decisions while setting up their procurement. They focused on the planning, solicitation, and evaluation steps. At each step of their process, you can choose the option that best supports environmental responsibility. Check the answer key to assess your learning.
Guidelines for Environmentally Responsible Procurement case study 2
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