All CalRecycle grant applicants are required to have in place or develop, adopt and implement an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and Practices (EPPP) Policy for their organizations. To see examples of existing EPPP Policies, visit the Responsible Purchasing Network, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Laws and Policies, and Tools and Resources.
- When is an EPPP Policy required?All competitive grant programs require applicants to have an EPPP Policy in place in order to be considered for grant funding. If you have one in place at the time you submit your application, you should answer “yes” to the EPPP Policy question in the Detail tab of your application, no further action is needed. If you answer “no,” your organization must adopt a policy prior to the secondary due date for the application, and you must upload a signed EPPP Notification.
- My organization has an EPPP Policy in place, should I upload the policy with my application?No, do not upload your EPPP Policy. If you have a policy in place, mark yes on the EPPP Policy question in the Detail tab of your application. If you mark yes, nothing more is required to satisfy the EPPP Policy requirement.
- We are a nonprofit, how would an EPPP Policy be obtained?Your organization must develop and adopt its own policy. You cannot obtain a policy from CalRecycle. To see examples of existing EPPP Policies please visit our Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Laws and Policies website.
- Who at CalRecycle will review our Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and Practices Policy (EPPP) to see if it meets the requirements for the grant program?CalRecycle does not pre-approve or review EPPP Policy documents as part of the process for applying for a grant. Do not upload your EPPP Policy to your application. You should review your policy to be sure it fulfills the purchasing and practices requirement.
- What exactly are you looking for in an EPPP Policy? In regards to EPPP Policy format, does it need to be an approved policy, a paragraph, or a page of guidelines? Would a green purchasing goal in a sustainability plan count?The policy must address both environmental preferable purchasing and practices. There is no required format and each organization needs to determine what policies work best for their organization. We have provided a list of existing examples that contain concepts that CalRecycle encourages organizations to include, please visit our Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Laws and Policies website.
- We do not have an EPPP Policy in place today. Can we adopt one at a later date?Any applicant who does not have an EPPP Policy in place when it submits its application must adopt one and upload the EPPP Notification by the secondary due date or the application will be disqualified. Do not upload a copy of your actual policy.
- Is the EPPP Policy Notification form required for all applicants?No, only applicants that checked “No our organization does not have an EPPP Policy” on the Detail Tab of the application. That means you adopted an EPPP Policy after you submitted the application and therefore are required to complete and submit the EPPP Notification form by the secondary due date.
- We have an EPPP Policy in place, but what is an EPPP Notification Document? Is there an example you can provide or direct me to find online?The EPPP Notification form is only required for organizations that do not have or adopt a new policy after their application is submitted. The EPPP Policy Notification form is available in GMS, on the Summary tab of your application.
- We currently do not have an EPPP Policy. I see in your forms there is a document to use, but the document requires a board approval date. Therefore, is this document sufficient for the EPPP requirement or do we additionally need to create one?Every applicant is required to have an EPPP in place by the secondary due date. If an EPPP Policy has been previously adopted, you must certify to that in the Detail tab of the application. If not, the applicant must create, adopt, and certify that an EPPP Policy was adopted by their governing body. The Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and Practices Policy Notification must be signed by the signature authority and does not replace the EPPP Policy, it affirms that an EPPP Policy was adopted.
- What are the requirements of the EPPP Policy? Does an agency have to amend their existing purchasing policy contained within the City’s municipal code?CalRecycle encourages organizations to incorporate the concepts listed on the EPPP information document available in the Resources Documents section of the Summary tab of your application in the Grants Management System. If an organization’s existing EPPP policy doesn’t address the concepts listed on the EPPP information document a resolution of the governing board will suffice to include the missing concepts into the current policy.
- I have read through the EPPP Policy Frequently asked Questions, but I’m still unclear on what is required. Who should I contact?If you are still unclear about the EPPP Policy requirement, please send an email to grantassistance@calrecycle.ca.gov.
For more information contact: Financial Assistance, grants@calrecycle.ca.gov