Stanford University
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

As part of Stanford's long range planning effort, Stanford set the goal in spring 2018 to achieve Zero Waste by 2030. Consistent with Stanford's Zero Waste goal, the purpose of its sustainable purchasing policy is to support and facilitate the purchase of products and materials that minimize the harmful effects to the environment from their production, transportation, use and disposition. It is Stanford's preference to purchase and use environmentally preferable products whenever they perform satisfactorily and can be acquired at similar cost and quality. A related purpose is to develop and implement common purchasing programs to be used by all Stanford personnel that support suppliers of environmentally preferable products, services and practices. For the complete policy language, please visit the following: http://www.stanford.edu/group/fms/fingate/staff/buypaying/policy_notes/sustainable_purchase.html http://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/sem.stanford.edu/files/documents/Stanford_sustainable_procurement_guidelines.pdf Additionally, Stanford has a stated preference for contracting with minority and women-owned businesses. See https://adminguide.stanford.edu/chapter-5/subchapter-5/policy-5-5-1

To improve the cost-effectiveness of its building and renovation programs, Stanford recognizes that it must invest in designs and systems with improved long-term performance. The Guidelines for Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) instruct Project Teams to consider not only the "first costs" of a building but also long-term costs, including utilities, operations, and maintenance. The guidelines are uploaded as an attachment for this credit.

Green cleaning products are specifically included in both Stanford's sustainable purchasing policy and sustainable purchasing guidelines. Specifically, Stanford recommends Green Seal products as environmentally preferable products, and the guidelines provide guidance on finding Green Seal products online. The vast majority of Stanford’s building space does in fact utilize Green Seal or other green cleaning products, as required through Stanford's contracts with custodial providers and groundskeepers. Specific green cleaning products are also included in Stanford's Sustainable Purchasing Guide for Breakroom Supplies, which is meant to help departmental purchasers around campus procure sustainable supplies. The Sustainable Purchasing Guide for Breakroom Supplies can be found here: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Breakroom%20supplies.pdf

Stanford's Department of Land, Buildings and Real Estate has developed a thorough Project Delivery Process (PDP) that addresses sustainability in planning, budgeting, design and construction, including Life Cycle Cost Analysis. The guidelines for Life Cycle Cost Analysis are attached as additional documentation to this credit. Additionally, Stanford’s sustainable procurement guidelines specifically call for the use of asphalt and concrete containing re-crushed cement concrete aggregate, glass cullet or recycled fiber, plastic or tire rubber.

For computer purchases, 100% of recommended computers are rated EPEAT Gold or EPEAT Silver. Procurement includes Energy Star requirements in all RFPs for electronic products. Stanford has worked with IT vendors to get these at an excellent price, which motivates students, faculty and staff to make the environmentally sound choice. For more details, please visit: https://itservices.stanford.edu/service/help/hardwarerec/computers Additionally, Stanford is creating a holistic Managed Print Services program for Stanford University (including Stanford Redwood City) and Stanford Health Care called Cardinal Print. The goal of Cardinal Print is to improve workflow efficiency, reduce security risks, enhance the end user experience, reduce the total cost of ownership (including expenses for equipment, consumables, maintenance, and energy), and help achieve the university's long-term sustainability goals. The Cardinal Print initiative will be launched alongside the opening of the Redwood City campus in March 2019.

All of Stanford’s recent café contracts require that the vendor maintain landfill, recycling, and compost collection infrastructure consistent with the campus Zero Waste program. For any cafes where this language is not included, Stanford plans to add the language in upon renewal of the contract.

Stanford’s Procurement and EH&S departments worked together to compile requirements for lab coat cleaning, including sustainability concepts. The vendor selected was Cintas, which operates a vast sustainability program. More information on the Cintas lab coat cleaning program is available here: http://www.cintas.com/customer_applications/green/

Stanford’s sustainable procurement guidelines state that departments must evaluate the environmental performance of vendors contracted for the provision of products and services. Additionally, Procurement has begun to evaluate sustainability within each of its spend categories, and professional services is one of the categories included in that effort to date.

Stanford’s Sustainable Purchasing Policy calls for minimization of deliveries to campus and distance a product has to travel to get to campus. It proposes strategies such as purchasing locally or from suppliers that the department already uses to avoid the addition of new delivery routes by new suppliers. Stanford has also contracted with an electric bus vendor to electrify the Marguerite bus fleet, which now has 41 fully electric buses. The university fleet is also on the path towards electrification with the development of a strategic plan to move the campus fleet towards fully electric or non-motorized modes of transportation on all possible vehicles over the next several years. Stanford’s Procurement department has also begun a systematic process of evaluating sustainability in each vendor category, and one of the first four categories addressed was travel. By evaluating travel vendors and employee travel purchase patterns, Procurement hopes to develop policies and best practices for sustainable travel for Stanford employees. Finally, Stanford’s sustainable procurement guidelines specifically call for the use of remanufactured tires and products made from recycled tire rubber, as well as re-refined lubrication and hydraulic oils.

Recycled content office paper and paper products are specifically included in both Stanford's sustainable purchasing policy and sustainable purchasing guidelines.

As mentioned above, Procurement has begun to evaluate sustainability within each of its spend categories. Categories evaluated to date include Office Supplies, Med/Lab equipment, Hardware, Travel, Furniture, Print Services, and Professional Services. Opportunities have been uncovered in the Office Supplies category, in particular, since Stanford’s primary office supply vendor is Office Depot, who developed a proprietary Shades of Green rating system for its products. The Office of Sustainability has partnered with Procurement and Office Depot to determine how to best implement the Shades of Green methodology at Stanford and use the information to encourage the purchase of the most sustainable office supplies across campus. Specific recommendations for sustainable office supplies and office equipment are currently included in Stanford's Sustainable Purchasing Guides for Office Supplies and Office Equipment, respectively, which are meant to help departmental purchasers around campus procure sustainable supplies for their buildings. The Sustainable Purchasing Guide for Office Supplies can be found here: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Office%20Supplies.pdf The Sustainable Purchasing Guide for Office Equipment can be found here: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Office%20Equipment.pdf Finally, purchasing energy efficient products is also a major focus of Stanford’s sustainable purchasing program. For instance, Stanford’s sustainable purchasing policy and guidelines both specifically recommend compact fluorescent light bulbs (the guidelines pre-date cost-effective LEDs). Moreover, the equipment inventory conducted in 2014 revealed many other inefficient types of electronic appliances that could gradually be phased out through procurement policies, including personal printers, personal refrigerators (mini fridges), and fax machines. Through Stanford’s Green Labs program, the Office of Sustainability also works with Procurement to encourage the purchase of energy efficient ultra-low temperature freezers and biosafety cabinets, which was one of the opportunities that emerged from the Med/Lab spend analysis referenced above. Information on the plug load equipment inventory and opportunities identified in the area of Procurement can be found here: https://sustainable.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/resource-attachments/plug_load_fact_sheet.pdf