Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.69
Liaison Laurie Husted
Submission Date June 8, 2020

STARS v2.2

Bard College
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.50 / 3.00 Dan Smith
Energy Efficiency Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Institution-wide sustainable procurement policies

Does the institution have written policies, guidelines, or directives that seek to support sustainable purchasing across multiple commodity categories institution-wide?:
Yes

A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
The policies, guidelines or directives:
- Bard Green Purchasing Policy & Guide which includes
Preferred Product Certifications & Labeling 5
Appliances & Electronics 6
Computers, Displays, & Tablets 7
Cleaning Products & Supplies, Flooring, Carpeting, & Tile 7
Indoor Furnishings, Paint & Coatings, Paper & Wood Products 7
Food Purchasing & Services 9
Vehicles & Transportation 10
Refrigerants (draft) 11

Specifically:
- Bard EATS and Real Food Standards rubrics
- IT department EPEAT Gold
- Paper Purchasing post consumer content
- Environmental Services cleaning products policy
- Building and Grounds chemical and grounds products, furniture, flooring, ceilings, walls, composite wood, or similar wood and furnishing products.
- Green construction and renovation policy

Policies can be found at:
https://www.bard.edu/bandg/
https://bos.bard.edu/initiatives/consumption-production/

Part 2. Life Cycle Cost Analysis 

Does the institution employ Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) when evaluating energy- and water-using products and systems?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the institution’s use of LCCA?:
Institution employs LCCA less comprehensively, e.g. for certain types of systems or projects and not others

A brief description of the LCCA policy and/or practices:
When purchasing major equipment - factors such as energy and water efficiency, maintenance costs, and disposal costs are all considered prior to purchase. Comparisons of power/efficiency ratings and water consumption rates are made, and calculations performed as needed.

For purchasing durable goods, preference is given to items with demonstrated longevity, non-hazardous materials, and sustainable sourcing. For example: choosing non-hazardous products that do not require special disposal and fees.

Part 3. Product-specific sustainability criteria

To count, the criteria must address the specific sustainability challenges and impacts associated with products and/or services in each category, e.g. by requiring or giving preference to multi-criteria sustainability standards, certifications and labels appropriate to the category. Broader, institution-wide policies should be reported in Part 1, above. 

Chemically intensive products and services

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating chemically intensive products and services?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for chemically intensive products and services:
All departments give preference to chemical products that are Green Seal, SCS & Ecologo certified.

Consumable office products

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating consumable office products?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for consumable office products:
All departments give preference to wood & paper products that are FSC certified (as per the Bard Green Purchasing Policy & Guide).

Furniture and furnishings

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating furniture and furnishings?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings:
Bard has a set of guidelines for all purchases, as well as new construction projects to ensure energy-efficiency and green design.
Sustainable Purchasing Policy - see page 7-8 for furniture and furnishings: https://tools.bard.edu/wwwmedia/files/99970876/1/Sustainable%20and%20Green%20Purchasing%20Policy%20Guide_v6_2020.pdf

New Construction & Major Renovation Policy:
https://bos.bard.edu/initiatives/energy/

Information Technology (IT) and equipment

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating Information technology (IT) and equipment?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for Information Technology (IT) and equipment:
IT department always purchases equipment with EPEAT GOLD rating (when available for the applications).

https://bos.bard.edu/initiatives/consumption-production/

Food service providers

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food service providers?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food service providers:
All food service vendors are vetted by Bard EATS (Education, Advocacy, Transparency, and Sustainability). For the reporting period, the dining company demonstrated their ability to adhere to the Real Food Challenge Standards rubric. This criterion is disseminated to food service vendors who wish to do business with Bard, who are evaluated on their ability to meet those goals.

http://www.bard.edu/bardeats/
http://calculator.realfoodchallenge.org/help/resources

The Green Onion, our campus convenience store has committed to reducing all concession packaging by 5%. They will accomplish this by increasing bulk infrastructure and offerings and will work with Bard's Food Sustainability Mananger to accomplish this goal.

We are currently working on increasing healthy and local products for our vending machines, however no quantitative goal has been set at this time.

Garments and linens 

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating garments and linens?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for garments and linens:
---

Professional service providers

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating professional service providers?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for professional service providers:
Professional service providers must demonstrate experience with LEED standards for new construction (New Construction & Major Renovation Policy:
https://bos.bard.edu/initiatives/energy/)

Transportation and fuels

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating transportation and fuels?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:
Explicit vehicle recommendations have been added to our Green Purchasing Policy.
And though not explicit to vehicles and fuels, the spirit of the Building & Grounds Dept. policy "F-BERD-008: Environmentally Sound Product Procurement", extends to the actions of supervisors and directors when making any purchasing decisions. New vehicles are evaluated on these preferences, and include the following outcomes:

- Each year, the Buildings & Grounds Dept. allocates a portion of its budget to replace the oldest and least fuel-efficient vehicles in its fleet with newer models with improved fuel economy, replacing over a dozen vehicles this way in since 2012.
-Since 2010, B&G has experimented with the purchase (2) all-electric vans, (2) high-efficiency "mini" trucks, and (1) electric-hybrid shuttle bus.
- Since 2010, the Transportation Dept. has purchased four electric-hybrid sedans (Toyota Prius) for its fleet, which are provided to other departments for short and long trips.
- Starting in 2013, Bard installed its first electric charging station at the Alumni Center, and by 2019 had four more charging stations on campus.

The Bard Climate Action Plan (ver. July 2017) also outlines the College’s preferences and strategies for fleet management, alternative transportation and renewable fuels, with the goal to completely gradually transition to a no/low carbon fleet by 2035.

B&G Dept. Policy No. F-BERD-008: Environmentally Sound Product Procurement
https://www.bard.edu/bandg/#7101579
Download the Bard CAP at: https://bos.bard.edu/initiatives/energy/

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable procurement program or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Sustainable Purchasing Guide includes a new section on Refrigerants and refrigerant-containing equipment. Scroll down to Guidelines & Policies on this page: https://bos.bard.edu/initiatives/consumption-production/
Other B&G Policies https://www.bard.edu/bandg/#7101579

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.