Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.74
Liaison Krista Bailey
Submission Date Oct. 20, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Pennsylvania State University
OP-14: Office Paper Purchasing

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.41 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have an institution-wide stated preference to purchase office paper that has recycled content and/or is certified to meet multi-criteria sustainability standards for paper?:
No

A copy of the paper purchasing policy, directive or guidelines:
---

The paper purchasing policy, directive or guidelines:

Although Penn State does not have a formal policy that requires the use of recycled-content paper, Purchasing uses market incentives to encourage its use, and works actively to negotiate lower prices for recycled paper. Penn State General Stores, through which most office paper used on campus is purchased, offers 30, 50, and 100 percent recycled paper at competitive prices. The General Stores website allows one to search for recycled content paper and "green" paper (produced using FSC or SFI certified wood). The recycled paper is packaged in recycled brown kraft cartons instead of bleached cartons. Paper is purchased by the truckload for a bulk discount. The University uses 100 percent recycled paper in all of its University Park computer labs. See http://www.purchasing.psu.edu/Purchasing/stewardship.cfm


A brief description of steps the institution has taken to ensure that the purchasing policy, directives, or guidelines are followed :

As stated above, Penn State uses price incentives to encourage the use of recycled-content paper, while still giving consumers a choice. In the online eBuy catalog, General Stores recycled paper is listed first. Purchasing actively promotes the use of these products by, for example, sending out "green" reminders to employees on its email list.


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (expenditures on office paper)?:
Yes

Expenditures on office paper with the following levels of post-consumer recycled, agricultural residue, and/or FSC certified content::
Expenditure Per Level
10-29 percent 0 US/Canadian $
30-49 percent 73,792.63 US/Canadian $
50-69 percent 347,840.95 US/Canadian $
70-89 percent (or FSC Mix label) 0 US/Canadian $
90-100 percent (or FSC Recycled label) 228,106.63 US/Canadian $

Total expenditures on office paper :
847,321.54 US/Canadian $

The website URL where information about the paper purchasing policy, directive, or guidelines is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Numbers are for calendar year 2013.


Numbers are for calendar year 2013.

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.