State University of New York at Cortland
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

The linked policy to New York State Office of General Services Procurement Law is still in effect and is the governing principle behind campus purchasing and approach to business partners. Specifically, the link provides access to NYS Finance Law, Article XI, State Purchasing / State Finance Law. The law came about based on New York State Executive Order 4, which is available via link here: https://www.ogs.state.ny.us/GreenNY/green-eo4-text.asp The campus Facilities Operations and Services and the Purchasing department are overseeing and will provide an annual report to the State of NY OGS based on reporting required for Executive Order (EO) 4 and 18. The EO4 was established on April 28, 2008, by then New York Gov. Paterson establishing a New York State "Green Procurement and Agency Sustainability Program," to promote policies within state agencies and authorities that reduce the consumption of materials and energy and reduce potential impacts on public health and the environment. As a result, SUNY is required, where applicable, to purchase environmentally-friendly commodities, services and technology and develop sustainability and stewardship programs. Executive Order 4 established an Inter-agency Committee on Sustainability and Green Procurement that is co-chaired by the Commissioner of General Services (OGS) and the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). OGS hosts the NYS State Green Procurement and Agency Sustainability Program website. Additionally, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing information is available on the OGS site. Additional procurment information concerning sustainable procurement and greening the procurement strategies were included in other Executive Orders. Namely, Executive Order No. 111, "Directing State Agencies, State Authorities, and Other Affected Entities to be More Energy Efficient and Environmentally Aware;" and Executive Order No.142," Directing State Agencies, and Authorities to Diversify Fuel and Heating Oil Supplies Through the Use of Biofuels in State Vehicles and Buildings can be found on NYS Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) website. It should be noted that Executive Order No. 111 has since been superseded by Executive Order No. 88 which was issued in December 2012. OGS offers two additional websites NYS Green Cleaning Program and Green Purchasing that offer information, training, and case studies in success of the procurment program to comply with these Executive Orders. New York State is also member of the Northeast Recycling Council whose "mission is to advance an environmentally sustainable economy by promoting source and toxicity reduction, recycling, and the purchasing of environmentally preferable products and services."

The LCCA is used in all capital construction projects and evaluation of operations of the Facilities Operations and Services.

The Environmental Health and Safety Office administers policies and procedures that address chemical awareness and stewardship. These polices and procedures address the sustainable use of resources to minimize use of chemicals, appropriate and safe handling, and proper disposal. The Environmental Health and Safety Office works in conjunction with the Facilities Operations and Services department, specifically Buildings & Grounds to coordinate proper cleaning practices in coordination with mandates associated with Executive Order 4 and Executive Order 134. Executive Order 4 addresses access to green chemicals, cleaning supplies, and other more sustainable products to address the chemical intensity of operations and building maintenance. The supporting specifications and resource documents can be found here: https://ogs.ny.gov/greenny/executive-order-4-approved-specifications?f%5B0%5D=filter_term%3A1251 Executive Order 134 addresses the importance of green cleaning practices and that information is found here: https://www.ogs.state.ny.us/purchase/spg/pdfdocs/EO134.pdf As a State Agency, we must comply with Executive Orders.

EO. 4 and EO. 18 have developed into the previously sighted Office of General Services NY Green website which contains a clearing house for specifications and guidance documents for criteria to procure Construction Related Materials and or Vendors to support green purchasing practices. Since Construction and Renovation practices can cover multiple categories identified by the Executive Order, a link to the main purchasing guidance page is found here: https://ogs.ny.gov/greenny/executive-order-4-approved-specifications?&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax In addition to the OGS specifications for sustainable purchasing criteria SUNY Cortland also complies with directives associated with the State University Construction Fund when it addresses construction materials, disposals, and overall environmental impact associated with construction and renovation work. A link to those directives can be found here: https://www.sucf.suny.edu/design/projdirp.cfm

EO. 4 and EO. 18 incorporate the OGS NY Green website and the OGS specifications for sustainable purchasing of all electronic equipment, including computers, imaging equipment, and mobile devices. Links to the electronics procurement for this can be found here: https://ogs.ny.gov/greenny/desktop-and-laptop-computers The Facilities Planning Design and Construction, in coordination with NYSERDA and the SUNY State University Construction Fund (SUCF), administers policies related to data center design, use and development. While SUCF does not have a specific directive for data center energy efficiency, that would be covered under general building directive for deep energy retrofits, which can be found here: https://www.sucf.suny.edu/pdf/dir/1B-2.pdf This is a link to the NYSERDA program related to Data Centers. https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/IPE-Data-Centers Based on current planning, our data centers were constructed prior to the release of this program. Upon review with NYSERDA program managers, our data centers were constructed in an energy efficient manner that would comply for the program. However, since the NYSERDA program came out AFTER our data center upgrade in 2011, we were not able to realize any incentive for our efforts other than the reduced energy consumption.

SUNY Cortland and ASC work closely together to support and align general practices, however, there has NOT been specific sustainability criteria identified to support the evaluation of specific services and or products utilized in our Food Service Operations. Identified items that we are working towards, but have not yet finalized: - waste reduction and local composting facility - while excess food is diverted to local outlets prior to disposal, it is not yet a specific written policy, nor is our "need" assessment established to help offer the most good with these donated items. - environmentally aware and sensitive packaging materials and NO expanded polystyrene. We practice this very well, but don't have specific criteria documented to define our purchasing criteria

SUNY Cortland ASC does not have specific documented sustainability criteria, the institution contracts with a vendor that does utilize sustainable practices. See more here: https://ameslinen.com/why-ames/sustainability/

SUNY Cortland is required to comply with New York procurement practices as they apply to the hiring of any professional service. The New York State procurement guidelines are governed by three main entities, Office of General Services (OGS), SUNY Administration (SUNY) and the State University Construction Fund (SUCF), as well as the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). OGS administers the Executive Orders 4 and 18 which provide guidelines for a variety or products including professional services in areas of architectural and engineering services. SUNY and SUCF provide specific criteria to the engineering services as it relates to energy efficiency, LCCA, and awareness of the LEED rating system and the USGBC.

EO 4 offers guidance in respect to the transportation vehicle selection with respect to fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles. This criteria is included from the guidance document here: For alternative fueled vehicles: When affected state entities are purchasing or leasing alternative fueled vehicles, including acquisitions to comply with Executive Order 111 or EPAct, they are encouraged to select vehicles which have a fuel economy in the top 30% of their vehicle class as listed under EPA size class on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maintained web site at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.shtml This specification is not a substitute for and is subject to other applicable laws and executive orders such as the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) and New York State Executive Order 111. Link to EO 4 specification and resources is here: https://ogs.ny.gov/greenny/passenger-cars Fuel sources are not covered by EO 4, but we do blend our diesel fuel with a biodiesel at 10% and we also have propane powered buses as part of our transportation fleet. These are legacy practices which will continue for the foreseeable future.

Matters related to wood typically used in construction projects on the SUNY Cortland Campus are governed by standard SUNY Contract clauses prohibiting the purchase of tropical hardwoods. Additionally, SUNY Cortland design and specification standard includes language requiring forest products be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. For additional information, visit http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=428 Matters related to paper products from EO4 have been addressed since 2008 when the executive order was first adopted. This includes specific requirements related to the recycled content in all copy paper, janitorial paper and other paper supplies purchased by each state agency or authority. This includes the aspirational goal of purchasing 100% recycled content products to the maximum extent practicable, and all copy and janitorial paper shall be processed chlorine-free to the extent practicable, unless such products do not meet required form, function or utility, or the cost of the product is not competitive. Non-recycled content shall be derived from a sustainably-managed renewable resource to the extent practicable, unless the cost of the product is not competitive.