Green procurement resembles 1970s' NBA

Green procurement today is like a pair of tight basketball shorts from the 1970s, said a Defense Department official in a speech today.

Government is in the initial stages of figuring out how to buy and what to buy when it comes to green products, James Reed, manager for the Defense Logistic Agency’s Hazardous Minimization program, said in a speech at the Coalition for Government Procurement annual Fall Conference.

Green procurement is in the early stages of its development, like the NBA.

Since the 1970s, things have changed drastically in the NBA. Players’ shorts were very snug and short. (Just remember pictures of “Dr. J” Julius Erving or “Pistol” Pete Maravich.) Players showed lots of leg back then. It was strange, and people nowadays wonder how the players could be convinced to wear those shorts.

In the years to come, people will look back to see the changes and adjustments in green procurement, as well as the advances in the field.

To expand Reed's analogy, NBA players in the 1970s wore simple Converse sneakers. Today, basketball shoes have advanced from the white-toed Converse to the Nike Air Jordan and Lebron James’ Nike Zoom and numerous other designer shoes.

Green procurement will advance too, but it may not take 40 years to get to its own version of the Nike Zoom.