| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 57.55 |
| Liaison | Michelle Larkins |
| Submission Date | Dec. 20, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Pacific University
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.25 / 3.00 |
Michelle
Larkins Director of the CSS Center for a Sustainable Society |
Does the institution have written policies, guidelines or directives that seek to support sustainable purchasing across commodity categories institution-wide?:
A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
The policies, guidelines or directives:
Purchasing Responsibly: The Purchasing Office (“Purchasing”) is authorized to make commitments to off‐campus vendors for the purchase of supplies, equipment, and services on behalf of all University departments. Purchasing conducts its function in accordance with the ethical and fiscally responsible practices of the purchasing profession, and in support of the University’s mission of sustainability.
In addition, Purchasing contracts with vendors of common‐use supplies to provide individual offices and departments with discounted, environmentally preferable products. All departments are encouraged to make purchases that reduce consumption of materials, reuse or repurpose materials whenever possible, and use products that are ultimately recyclable.
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:
Our primary use of LCCA, is in considering our boiler systems. Here is an example assessment for boiler replacement.
We are replacing archaic boilers, working with the Energy Trust of Oregon on an incentive program to pay some of the replacement cost. For example, the Marsh boiler, an old oil burner converted to natural gas, the only thing that survived the Marsh fire in 1975, operated at about 70% efficiency. In summer 2013 we installed two HydroTherm KN-‐6 condensing gas boilers to replace the old burner. We chose the Marsh boiler because we were facing an $8,500 repair cost on top of $11,000 spent earlier. The installed cost after the incentive payment and after deducting what we would have spent on immediate repairs was $72,000. Efficiency went from 70% to 95%, saving $6,700/year, providing a 9.3% first-‐year ROI. That also removes 35.6 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually and reduces the amount of carbon offsets needed to reach neutrality.
With future boiler replacements, we hope that in-‐house labor would substantially reduce replacement costs (roughly half of the boiler replacement cost was labor; we were temporarily without an in-‐house boiler engineer), which could boost first-‐year ROI to as high as 15%.
We also replaced the Stoller Center heat pumps, which use electricity to provide both heating and cooling, with more efficient models. We should realize a 23% energy savings, or about 400,000 kWh/year. If we got electricity straight off the Northwest power grid, that would save about 160 metric tons of CO2/year; however, because Forest Grove uses much more hydropower than the average Northwest grid delivery, the amount of CO2 saved would be substantially less.
In terms of overall energy use, it is instructive to compare Gilbert Hall, which uses 0.500 therms per square foot of floor area per year (therms/sqft-‐yr; one therm is 100,000 Btu), with the Murdock chemistry building, our least efficient, which uses 6 times as much energy or 2.919 therms/sqft-‐yr. There are two main equipment differences. Murdock has its original, very
inefficient, 32-‐year-‐old boiler. Gilbert has a super-‐efficient condensing gas boiler. Also in Gilbert, stale exhaust air is channeled through a heat-‐recovery ventilator that exchanges heat with fresh incoming air, preheating it, transferring about 75% of the energy in the outgoing air to the incoming air. Murdock has a much higher air-‐exchange rate, mandated by building codes, of four complete building air changes per hour, and there is no heat-‐recovery ventilator, so 100% of the interior air’s added heat is lost when exhausted to the outside. Replacing the boiler and adding a heat-‐recovery ventilator would reduce Murdock’s natural gas energy use by about half, saving 20,000 therms or about $20,000 per year and also saving 106 metric tons of CO2 annually.
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating chemically intensive products and services (e.g. building and facilities maintenance, cleaning and sanitizing, landscaping and grounds maintenance)?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for chemically intensive products and services:
We maintain a standard of 75% of all our janitorial supplies to be Green Label or Eco Seal. Contract letters and support attached below.
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating construction and renovation products (e.g. furnishings and building materials)?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for construction and renovation products:
Pacific 2018 Standards Binder – Office Depot (office supplies, furniture) attachment
· Furniture standards - Vendor Hon – chosen for outstanding quality and sustainability (attached HON environmental responsibility), do not allow ready to assemble furniture
o furniture is constantly reused on all campuses
· M/W/F deliveries – departments need to group orders together to minimize deliveries
· Supplies that cannot be returned or used and are in good condition can be taken to the surplus/unwanted office supplies location near the CCE office.
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating Information technology (IT) products and services (e.g. computers, imaging equipment, mobile phones, data centers and cloud services)?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for IT products and services:
This document lists our preference for Energy Star and EPEAT equipment: https://helpdesk.pacificu.edu/kb/article/107-Sustainable-Technology-Practices
This document is a policy that is (at least in part) meant to reduce the demand for equipment: https://helpdesk.pacificu.edu/kb/article/96-Technology-Purchasing-Computer-Growth-New-Employees
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food services (i.e. franchises, vending services, concessions, convenience stores)?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food services:
40% of all purchases must be local according to our contract with our service provider, Aramark.
Local = 250 miles
See list of local purchasing, and commitment to 40% benchmark here:
https://pacificu.campusdish.com/Sustainability/WhatWeAreDoing.aspx
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 services (e.g. architectural, engineering, public relations, financial)?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for professional services:
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating transportation and fuels (e.g. travel, vehicles, delivery services, long haul transport, generator fuels, steam plants)?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating wood and paper products?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for wood and paper products:
30% post consumer waste for paper
100% post consumer waste for food service, single use catering items.
Posted internally/externally at
https://www.pacificu.edu/pacific-directory/offices-departments/finance-administration/purchasing/purchasing-policies-procedures
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating products and services in other commodity categories that the institution has determined to have significant sustainability impacts?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for other commodity categories:
The website URL where information about the programs 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.