Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.45
Liaison Bambi Ingram
Submission Date Feb. 7, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Alabama at Birmingham
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 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?:
Yes

A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
The policies, guidelines or directives:

UAB's commitment to equal opportunity shall be applied to purchasing decisions in all aspects of UAB's procurement and construction programs, including achieving and fostering greater local, minority-owned, and female-owned business enterprise participation. This includes, but is not limited to, operational supplies and equipment, construction/design projects and materials, service contracts, and lease agreements.


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 are listed in OP4.


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?:
No

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

The University's Facilities Division houses UAB's Office of Small Business Inclusion. This program supports UAB's policy to provide opportunities for diverse business enterprises to ensure their fair consideration as suppliers of our goods and services. In establishing this policy, UAB is recognizing its responsibility to the communities that it serves and the society in which it conducts its business. The policy statement can be found here - https://www.uab.edu/facilities/sbi/policy-statement


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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:

New or Used Vehicle purchase policy at UAB

The Department of Energy specifies that the university must acquire alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) for automobiles with GVWR of 8,500 or less. To-date, Hybrids and Low Speed vehicles do not qualify as alternative fuel vehicles under this regulation. Golf carts and other utility vehicles also fall under the alternative fuel vehicle purchase requirements. The link to this policy can be found here - https://www.uab.edu/transportation/state-vehicles/alternative-fuel-vehicles

Our recent transportation RFP for bus services included the following:
https://www.uab.edu/transportation/state-vehicles/alternative-fuel-vehicles

2.6 Fleet Requirements. UAB calculates based on current routes and service requirements, the UAB Campus Transportation Service shall require a total of eighteen (18) vehicles – fourteen (14) peak service vehicles, two (2) spares, and two (2) additional vehicles to be used for special events and to augment service as needed. The eighteen (18) vehicles include fourteen (14) heavy-duty buses and four (4) mid-duty cut-away buses. Heavy-duty bus specifications can be found in Appendix E. Medium-duty bus specifications can be found in Appendix F. In addition to diesel, UAB has purchased alternative fuels (CNG / propane) for the medium-duty buses.


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.