| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 59.66 |
| Liaison | Christina Erickson |
| Submission Date | Aug. 15, 2022 |
Champlain College
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.25 / 3.00 |
Nic
Anderson Sr. Director Operations & Planning Campus Planning |
Does the institution have written policies, guidelines, or directives that seek to support sustainable purchasing across multiple commodity categories institution-wide?:
A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
The policies, guidelines or directives:
Does the institution employ Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) when evaluating energy- and water-using products and systems?:
Which of the following best describes the institution’s use of LCCA?:
A brief description of the LCCA policy and/or practices:
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating chemically intensive products and services?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for chemically intensive products and services:
Our two custodial contracts stipulate that only non-toxic cleaning agents may be used.
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating consumable office products?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for consumable office products:
Office Supplies: The Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium (GMHEC) has contracted with WB Mason for office supply purchases within our institutions. W. B. Mason provides the lowest market basket pricing on products we order and offers a paid internship to one student for each school per year. The overall service and ease of website use were additional factors in our consideration. Contact ap@champlain.edu for specific WB Mason account questions. Recycled content copy paper is listed as our preferred copy paper, as it supports Champlain's economic and environmental goals.
https://www.champlain.edu/faculty-and-staff/campus-information/finance/frequently-asked-questions
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating furniture and furnishings?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings:
From the Master plan - see pages 69-70 https://drive.google.com/file/d/13XMpzjpZo7tFjjn0jJWTltP12fbo0znv/view?usp=sharing
"In addition to the specific policies outlined within the master plan, however, Champlain should use sustainability as a significant priority in decision-making, both in implementation of the master plan and in the day-to-day operation of the College. The Champlain Post Carbon Committee [now Sustain Champlain], a coalition of faculty, staff, and students, has been working to identify sustainability goals, and to see that they are achieved. As Champlain moves forward, the College, the Post Carbon Committee, and the master plan ask that consideration be given to the following:
Sustainability Principles
• Seeking alternative practices and procedures to reduce our fossil fuel energy consumption and minimize negative impacts on the environment.
• Conserving natural resources and restoring environmental quality.
• Protecting the biodiversity of our Lake Champlain region.
• Considering the social, economic and environmental impacts of Champlain College’s operational policies on the greater Burlington community.
• Fostering a participatory process in developing “Sustainable Champlain” policies.
• Striving to construct LEED®-certifiable buildings. [**sustainable furnishings have been an important part of our strategy for LEED and other green building certifications. see https://www.champlain.edu/faculty-and-staff/campus-information/campus-operations/awards]
• Continuing to support the Post Carbon Committee’s activities."
From the Development Guidelines - see pages 3-5 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LNXr45nO4A2IbRJIiJglwgyk_avU9Rea/view?usp=sharing
"Procurement
• Consider using recyclable and local materials for future building and furnishing projects.
• Procure recycled copy paper for campus-wide copiers.
• Use “green cleaning” products (i.e. phosphate-free) for both campus facilities (i.e.
cleaning soaps) and on-campus personal hygiene (toilet paper).
• Adopt a campus-wide policy of supporting businesses that adopt a socially responsible (i.e. sweatshop-free products) approach."
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating Information technology (IT) and equipment?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for Information Technology (IT) and equipment:
From the Champlain College Information Systems "Sustainability Statement of Practice" from April 2022 at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k64nQEeSkrj2V13pxHdpLY21j9S7-Xc9/view?usp=sharing
"Since 2010, Information Systems (IS) at Champlain College has set the following standards related to sustainability, both
environmental and financial:
● Configuration of faculty, staff, and lab computer hardware to meet or exceed Energy Star and/or EPEAT Bronze standards.
* Our "standard" computing packages include the most power efficient CPU and power supply options available.
● Configuration of faculty, staff, and lab computer software to reduce energy consumption when not in use.
● We engage vendors, such as Dell and Apple, who actively participate in programs to mitigate the environmental effects of computing and e-waste.
● We have moved to a 5-year refresh cycle for faculty, staff, and lab computers. When compared to a common
3-year refresh cycle this means that we save more than 120 computers worth of e-waste per year.
● We have implemented a "one machine per FTE" refresh program to reduce the total number of computers on
campus. Our estimate is that this will save 5-10 computers worth of e-waste per year.
● Peripherals and other “non-core” computing devices and hardware (VOIP phones, tablets, monitors, mice,
keyboards, etc) are purchased by departments and only replaced when needed.
● All electronics recycling is managed through Champ Support with funding by Physical Plant.
● We offer laptops as a default package option for faculty users.
● We utilize LCD displays wherever possible.
● We have consolidated the majority of campus servers into a VMware virtualized server environment or engaged off-campus hosted server solutions, such as Google Apps. This results in fewer physical computers in the campus server room (less e-waste) as well as significantly less electricity and heating/cooling used to run campus systems.
● We have a print management system (PaperCut) for students, faculty, staff and all multifunction printing devices are set to duplex printing as the default setting.
● We continue to advocate for the use of our managed fleet of networked multi-function devices (copier, printer, scanner, fax) and suggest scan-to-email in place of printing.
● Electronic software-based faxing removes the need for dedicated fax machines and reduces paper usage as
faxes can be sent and received completely electronically.
● Adoption of an electronic signature system so that contracts and other official documents can be handled
completely electronically.
● Adoption of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) technology using thin-clients where possible. This results in significantly less e-waste generated by client-side computing as well as freeing up valuable square footage throughout campus."
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food service providers?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food service providers:
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating garments and linens?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for garments and linens:
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating professional service providers?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for professional service providers:
Many of our RFPs are now done through the Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium (GMHEC). The GMHEC RFP template includes a version of the sustainability language: SUSTAINABILITY: The Contractor shall endorse the following Sustainability Value Statement and will endeavor to support sustainability practices in its performance of the agreement: The Consortium recognizes the importance of our Contractors' to our goal of achieving sustainability. The Consortium strives to work with Contractors who actively reduce waste, conserve energy and water, develop and/or use renewable energy, and otherwise promote environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C2U52XQhaM1Gl6bg3PU3mjnvCnqpxnEX/view?usp=sharing
https://www.champlain.edu/faculty-and-staff/campus-information/finance/contracts-and-risk-management
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating transportation and fuels?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:
Our procedures for fleet vehicle and fuel procurement are in draft stage and as of April 2022 have not yet been finalized. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UDhGX42ISoC2Y6SN2J57qwHN5-8GkDNXzx5NQ8WvBz0/edit?usp=sharing
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:
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.