Amherst College
OP-9: Sustainable Procurement System

9.1 Supplier code of conduct

An institution earns 1 point when it has a published supplier code of conduct that includes one or more expectations that exceed or are additional to minimum regulatory compliance in regard to A) environmental impact, B) treatment of workers, C) governance and ethical business practices, D) advancement of sustainability in the supply chain, and E) monitoring and review. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Techical Manual.

Measurement

Report on the current status of the institution’s written policies and/or guidance for suppliers. Policies and guidance adopted by entities of which the institution is part (e.g., government or the university system) may count for this credit as long as they apply to and are implemented by the institution.

9.2 Percentage of bid solicitations that identify sustainability considerations

An institution earns 2 points when 100 percent of its bid solicitations - e.g., requests for proposals (RFPs) or requests for tender (RFTs) - identify A) product sustainability specifications that are relevant to the specific goods or services being sought and B) supplier sustainability considerations. Incremental points are available and earned as outlined in the Techical Manual.

Measurement

Report on bid solicitations issued by the institution during the previous three years. The analysis may be limited to the most recent year for which data are available or include the entire three-year period. 

An institution with a large number of RFPs or RFTs may report on a representative sample that includes at least 20 bid solicitations of diverse types and scopes. Bid solicitations with an anticipated aggregate value of $50,000 USD or less per year or an anticipated contract duration of one month or less may be excluded.

For this indicator, an institution must report on the activities of its central purchasing unit, department, and/or portal, at minimum. Other entities engaged in procurement activities may be excluded at the institution’s discretion to simplify reporting. 

An institution that has not issued any bid solicitations within the previous three years or for which bid solicitations represent a de minimis portion of its total spend may report on the extent to which it has published sustainability criteria (e.g., documented in a written sustainable purchasing policy) covering the full range of goods and services it procures and the suppliers with which it engages.

9.3 Average weight given to sustainability considerations in bid appraisal 

An institution earns 2 points when A) product sustainability specifications that are relevant to the specific goods or services being sought and B) supplier sustainability considerations are each assigned an average weight of at least 10 percent in the institution’s bid appraisal process. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report on the institution’s minimum standards for evaluating responses to RFPs/RFTs (e.g., as established in a bid appraisal tool that uses multi-criteria analysis) and/or the estimated average weights applied during the previous three years.

To avoid double-counting, an institution for which product sustainability specifications and supplier sustainability considerations are assessed together must split the total weight assigned between the two criteria. For example, an institution for which “product and supplier sustainability” is assigned a weight of 10 percent may report 5 percent for each criterion, but may not report 10 percent for each criterion.

An institution that has not issued any bid solicitations within the previous three years or for which bid solicitations represent a de minimis portion of its total spend may report on the weight that published sustainability criteria (e.g., documented in a written sustainable purchasing policy) are assigned in the process of selecting the goods and services it procures and the suppliers with which it engages.

9.4 Percentage of contract spend with social impact suppliers

An institution earns 2 points when at least 10 percent of its total annual contract spend is with social impact suppliers. Partial points are available. An institution for which at least 5 percent, but less than 10 percent, of its total annual contract spend is with social impact suppliers earns 1 point.

Measurement

Report the most recent annual (fiscal or calendar year) data available from within the previous three years. Contracts or tenders with an aggregate value of $50,000 US Dollars (USD) or less per year or a duration of one month or less may be excluded. Report the actual value of transactions during the year in question rather than the total aggregate value of the contracts or tenders.

For this indicator, an institution must report on the activities of its central purchasing unit, department, and/or portal, at minimum. Other entities engaged in procurement activities may be excluded at the institution’s discretion to simplify reporting. 

The analysis may be limited to the institution’s Tier One suppliers (e.g., its directly contracted suppliers) or include multiple tiers in the supply chain (e.g., a Tier One supplier’s subcontractors) as long as double-counting is avoided.

Double-counting must also be avoided when identifying social impact suppliers. For example, the spend with a supplier that is both employee owned and a Certified B Corporation may only be counted once.

An institution that has not entered into any contracts or tenders within the previous three years or for which contracts and tenders represent a de minimis portion of its total spend may report on its total uncontracted spend with suppliers during the performance year.

Provide information about the methodology used to complete this indicator, the scope of the analysis (e.g., contract types included/excluded), and any data limitations that may have influenced the results in the “Notes” field provided in the Reporting Tool.

Applicable to all institutions.