New Rochelle staff outline Green Purchasing adoption and citywide sustainability framework

Deputy Finance Commissioner Adam Ross and Department of Development officials presented the Green Purchasing Communities program and the updated GreenNR sustainability plan to the New Rochelle City Council Committee of the Whole, outlining how the city could adopt state-verified green purchasing specifications and pursue direct-pay clean-energy funding for resilient facilities.

The presentation explained that the state27s program, aligned with Executive Order 22, provides approved product specifications and vendor lists that municipal purchasers can reference. "If you shrunk the Earth to the size of an apple, the atmosphere would be thinner than the apple's skin," Ross said in opening remarks about the rationale for sustainability measures. He described the adoption process as a two-step change to city purchasing policy that would give staff a preference for state-identified green options while allowing exceptions for budget or…