Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 46.59
Liaison Bambi Ingram
Submission Date July 29, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Alabama at Birmingham
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 3.00 Julie Price
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have written policies, guidelines or directives that seek to support sustainable purchasing across commodity categories institution-wide?:
No

A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
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The policies, guidelines or directives:
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Does the institution employ Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) when evaluating energy- and water-using products and systems?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the institution’s use of LCCA?:
Institution employs LCCA as a matter of policy and standard practice when evaluating all energy- and water-using products, systems and building components

A brief description of the LCCA policy and/or practices:

UAB Energy Management has a mandatory review of purchases for equipment for new construction, renovation, and building-scale implementation (lighting, appliances, boilers, pumps) to assess Life Cycle Cost Analysis in addition to purchase price to select product.


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)?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for chemically intensive products and services:
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Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating construction and renovation products (e.g. furnishings and building materials)?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for construction and renovation products:

UAB Planning, Design, and Construction's Sustainable Design Requirements include sections on finishes, supply chain, off-gassing periods, etc. These requirements and checklist for all project teams to complete during design review are linked below.

https://www.uab.edu/facilities/images/PDF/Facilities_Standards/Section_018113_Sustainable_Design_Requirements_Final__03112016.pdf
https://www.uab.edu/facilities/images/PDF/Facilities_Standards/Sustainable_Building_Design_Parameter_Checklist.pdf


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)?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for IT products and services:
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Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food services (i.e. franchises, vending services, concessions, convenience stores)?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food services:
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Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating garments and linens?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for garments and linens:

UAB holds a licensing contract with Barnes and Noble for all online and bookstore purchases of UAB gear. See link below for this statement from Barnes and Noble:

Clothing, footwear and logoed products.

From the Barnes & Noble College Booksellers website: We have been recognized as an industry leader in the effort to eliminate sweatshops used to produce college apparel. We are a member of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and since 1998, we have required all vendors who supply products to our stores to adopt the FLA’s Code of Conduct, which requires strict adherence to workers’ rights (and no child labor). And all of the brands sold in our bookstores currently meet labor standards set by the Workers Rights Consortium (WCA), an independent labor rights monitoring organization

http://www.fairlabor.org/affiliate/barnes-noble-college-booksellers


Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating professional services (e.g. architectural, engineering, public relations, financial)?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for professional services:

Architectural and engineering services are contracted through a public bid process wherein vendors must pre-qualify to bid on projects, and then submit a project bid. The project bid requires responses to many areas of qualification, including experience, quality, schedule, minority and women-owned business subcontractor percentages, and sustainability. If the firms are selected to move forward in the process, they must present to the selection committee and again respond to the above areas of qualification. Sustainability and supplier diversity are two components used by the committee in scoring each presentation and selecting the winning firm.


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)?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:
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Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating wood and paper products?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for wood and paper products:
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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?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for other commodity categories:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.