Rice University
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

See Rice University Policy No. 814, Procurement Policy, Page 4. http://professor.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/Professor/Independent_Pages/Policies/Policy814_Purchasing.pdf

From the Environmental Standards for the Rice Building Standards: "Project team will determine which building equipment is to have life cycle costing shall be performed to quantify the 20-year impacts on energy and maintenance costs. This life cycle costing shall be presented to the Rice Project Manager and Rice Energy Manager for consideration when choosing systems." From the Life Cycle Activities Standards: "During the design process options should generally be presented with an initial project cost and a life cycle cost." Knowing that building equipment does have a lifespan, and will require replacement at some point, the architect shall design facilities to accommodate the future replacement.

Procurement of chemically intensive products and services for cleaning and sanitizing are detailed with the green cleaning portion of credit OP-3 Building Operations and Maintenance. The attachment provided with that credit details procurement for cleaning products, cleaning equipment, and more. Landscape chemical procurement is driven by the Grounds department's Integrated Pest Management plan, which include chemical avoidance as well as procurement guidance. See https://stars.aashe.org/media/secure/14/6/500/3772/Rice%20University%20Integrated%20Pest%20Management%20Mission%20and%20Plan.pdf

As part of the university's commitment to LEED for new buildings, new construction projects are required to meet requirements for low-emitting materials. All paint for interior spaces is required to be low- or no-VOC. Further, the standards state that "building furnishings and finishes shall be selected with the intent of contributing toward healthful indoor environmental quality and minimizing waste." See Section 10 of Environmental Standards. Rice University projects, including major renovations, shall attempt to meet and exceed the requirements of Materials and Resources Credit 4 – Recycled Content and Credit 5 – Regional materials under the current LEED rating system for this material. Generally, the use of cement substitutes and additives in the concrete design that promote the use of recycled materials such as fly ash and slag shall be considered. Concrete materials and products should be extracted, recovered and manufactured within 500 miles of Rice University. Energy-efficient LED lighting is the "basis of design" for new construction/renovation projects.

All new computer purchases must adhere to university standard and the university's approved offerings are all EnergyStar rated.

Vendors who operate at the weekly Rice University Farmers Market who sell "fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and other agricultural and horticultural products, dairy products, fish, and meats" must be "raised by the vendor within a 200 mile radius of Rice University". Vendors who sell processed foods at the Rice University Farmers Market that are generally prepared for off-site consumption, such as baked goods, jams, sauce, etc., must meet the requirement of "at least 51 percent of every product’s ingredients coming from local sources in order to be included in the Market." For published vendor rules, please see http://dining.rice.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Rice-University-Farmers-Market-Rules-2016.pdf

Rice, whenever possible, shall make a good-faith effort to utilize small or historically underutilized businesses (HUBs), especially within the local community. See Rice University Policy No. 814, Procurement Policy, Page 4. http://professor.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/Professor/Independent_Pages/Policies/Policy814_Purchasing.pdf

Low-emissions boilers are required as per Rice's building standards - see section 2a, iv. Further, the blowers are required to have variable frequency drives, which reduces energy consumption (section v). Duct burners on heat recovery steam generators must also be low-emissions - see section 2b. https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/23%2050%2000%20Central%20Heating%20Equipment.pdf Equipment in utility plants is evaluated using life-cycle costing. A general expectation of life cycle costing of equipment is part of Rice's building standards. See https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/01%2090%2000%20life%20Cycle%20Activities.pdf Contractor's carts as per Rice's building standards may not be gas-powered and in the majority of cases, the engine of a gasoline or diesel powered equipment and vehicles are not allowed to idle for more than five minutes while the motor vehicle is parked, stopped, or otherwise not in motion. See https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/34%2000%2000%20Transportation.pdf

As per Rice's building standards, for projects pursuing LEED certification, use at least 50% (based on cost) of wood-based materials and products that are certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) principles and criteria for wood building components (or a USGBC approved equivalent certification system). Projects not pursuing LEED certification are encouraged to meet or exceed this threshold, but may choose not to at the discretion of the Rice Project Manager. See section 1d of https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/06%2000%2000%20Wood%2C%20Plastics%2C%20Composites.pdf Furthermore, within section 1c of those same standards, Composite wood, agrifiber, and laminating adhesives products may not use or contain urea-formaldehyde resins. Procurement of janitorial paper products are detailed with the green cleaning portion of credit OP-3 Building Operations and Maintenance. The attachment provided with that credit details procurement for cleaning products, cleaning equipment, and more. Finally, section 10b of the Environmental Standards within Rice's building standards states that all LEED projects shall achieve the associated points for low-emitting materials, and this includes wood and agrifiber products. See https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/01%2005%2000%20Environmental%20Standards.pdf

Rice University's building standards include a "Buy American" clause for non-commodity items stating that "the Architect shall not design for nor specify materials, products, or assemblies that are not American made/assembled/quarried, etc." This not only reduces the miles with which something must be shipped, it also makes it more likely that a particular item can be more easily maintained and repaired due to local availability of replaceable parts, etc. Low-voltage dry-type electrical transformers must comply with 10 CFR 431.196 (Table 4-2 from NEMA TP 1-2002) for energy efficiency.

Environmental Standards: https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/01%2005%2000%20Environmental%20Standards.pdf Life Cycle Standards: https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/01%2090%2000%20life%20Cycle%20Activities.pdf Buy American requirement: https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/01%2000%2000%20General%20Requirements.pdf Paint procurement: https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/09%2090%2000%20Painting%20and%20coating.pdf Concrete requirements: https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/03%2000%2000%20Cast%20in%20Place%20Concrete.pdf Lighting Standards: https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/26%2050%2000%20Lighting.pdf Electrical transformers: https://facilities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs1011/f/26%2022%2000%20Low%20Voltage%20Transformer.pdf https://sustainability.rice.edu/campus-greening http://professor.rice.edu/professor/Policies.asp