| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.81 |
| Liaison | Kelli O'Day |
| Submission Date | March 6, 2020 |
University of California, Davis
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.50 / 3.00 |
Camille
Kirk Director of Sustainability and Campus Sustainability Planner Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have written policies, guidelines, or directives that seek to support sustainable purchasing across multiple commodity categories institution-wide?:
A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
The policies, guidelines or directives:
The University of California Policy on Sustainable Practices establishes goals in nine areas of sustainable practices which includes environmentally preferable purchasing of products and services. It outlines the University’s targets for sustainable procurement as well as requirements for UC sustainable procurement practices, that is the activities of University of California buyers as they relate to sustainable procurement. As per the policy, sustainable procurement should look to reduce unnecessary purchasing first, then prioritize purchase of surplus or multiple use products, before looking at recyclable, compostable, or otherwise sustainable products.
Link to UC Policy on Sustainable Practices: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/SustainablePractices
The University of California Sustainable Procurement Guidelines act as a companion to the Sustainable Procurement section of the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices. It lays out the minimum sustainability requirements for products and services purchased by the University of California and identify those product attributes that are strongly preferred, if not mandatory. It further defines the green spend, economically & socially responsible spend and sustainable spend in order to meet the sustainable procurement targets set by the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices.
Link to UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines: https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/_files/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf
Further information on the University of California's sustainable procurement practices can be obtained from below URL.
https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/index.html
Does the institution employ Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) when evaluating energy- and water-using products and systems?:
Which of the following best describes the institution’s use of LCCA?:
A brief description of the LCCA policy and/or practices:
Section G - 5 (c) of the UCOP Sustainable Practices Policy states that the university seeks to "compare the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) when evaluating costs for goods and services in the selection of suppliers, whenever feasible as part of the procurement department's strive to integrate sustainability into its processes and practices, including competitive solicitations".
As defined by the Policy, TCO "considers not only purchase price, but also any costs associated with the acquisition, use, and disposal of the product. These costs may include some or all of the following: freight, taxes and fees, installation, operation/ energy use, maintenance, warranty, collection, end-of-life disposal or recycling, as well as social or environmental costs, such as the cost of purchasing pollution offsets or monitoring labor practices".
UC Davis has used a Life-Cycle Cost Analysis approach for evaluating several scenarios for our district heating infrastructure. With the help of a consulting firm, we evaluated one scenario for re-investment in our existing steam system, and five scenario variations, each involving methods of shifting from steam to low-temperature heating hot water. The analysis, which took a 60 year period into account and included a cost of carbon, showed that investing in hot water will bring lower operating costs and greater capital renewal, and led to the Davis campus choosing to invest in an option for hot water that will allow for deep decarbonization and full electrification of our district heating system. The campus is using a similar LCCA approach to evaluate the feasibility of an on-campus composting facility, with final analysis expected by late March 2020.
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating chemically intensive products and services?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for chemically intensive products and services:
UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines have set specific standards for Cleaning Chemical Supplies. Cleaning supplies include general purpose bathroom, glass and carpet cleaners; degreasing agents; biologically-active cleaning products (enzymatic and microbial products); floor-care products (e.g. floor finish and floor finish strippers); hand soaps and hand sanitizers; disinfectants; and metal polish and other specialty cleaning products.
As per the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines, at least 25% of Cleaning supplies purchases are required to be certified by one of the below certifications/ standards; Green Seal, UL Ecologo, EPA Safer Choice. Beyond the minimum requirement, UC prefers to drive towards a minimum of 75% of certified purchases for cleaning supplies.
For more information, refer the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines - Page 10 and Page 16 (https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/_files/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf).
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating consumable office products?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for consumable office products:
As per UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines, sustainability criteria have been set for copy paper, paper office supplies, non-paper office supplies and toner.
- A minimum of 30% of copy paper is required to be Post-Consumer Recycled Content (PCRC) or agricultural residue content or Green Seal (GS-07) certified.
- A minimum of 30% of paper office supplies other than copy paper is required to be Post-Consumer Recycled Content (PCRC) certified.
- Non-paper office supplies are required to meet the minimum EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) recycled-content levels for Non-Paper Office Products, and a minimum 30% recycled content for all writing utensils (dryerase markers, highlighters, markers, pens, and pencils) or other plastic-based accessories.
- Toner purchases are required to meet the recognized standards, either Remanufactured or High Yield.
For more information, refer the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines - Page 10, 11 and Page 17 (https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/_files/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf).
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating furniture and furnishings?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings:
As per UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines, all indoor furniture must meet all of the following criteria.
- GREENGUARD Gold or SCS Indoor Advantage Gold certified
- Free of the below 6 classes of chemicals of concern as specified in the Section 7.E of the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines; Flame retardant chemicals, Formaldehyde and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Per and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) used as stain/water/oil resistant treatments, Antimicrobials, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Heavy Metals
For more information, refer the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines - Page 10, 11 and Page 17 (https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/_files/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf).
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating Information technology (IT) and equipment?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for Information Technology (IT) and equipment:
UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines have set specific standards for Electronics. Electronics includes any product for which an Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®) certification is available. EPEAT currently includes PCs and Displays (including tablets), Imaging Equipment (which includes printers, copiers, scanners and multifunction devices), Televisions, Mobile Phones and Servers.
All Electronics purchased by the University are required to have achieved a minimum EPEAT Bronze-level registration or higher, where applicable. All Electronics must also be Energy Star® rated. Beyond this minimum requirement, UC prefers and has set spend goals to further drive the purchase of EPEAT Gold-level registered products, where applicable.
For more information, refer the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines - Page 10 and Page 15 (https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/_files/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf).
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food service providers?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food service providers:
The University of California has a goal to procure 20 percent sustainable food products by the year 2020 for campus and health location foodservice operations as stated in the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices. Sustainable food is defined as food and beverage purchases that meet one or more of the criteria listed in the Section H.2 of the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices (https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/SustainablePractices).
By 2020, the University will prohibit the sale, procurement or distribution of packaging foam, such as food containers and packaging material as per the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices (Section F.5).
As per the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines, compostable food service ware are required to be certified compostable by Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) or Green Seal GS-35 or made 100% from uncoated, unlined, obviously plant-based material and appear on the Cedar Grove Accepted Items List for Commercial Compostability. Further, compostable food service containers and packages that have recycled and/or sustainably harvested content are preferred wherever possible (Section 7.F of the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines - (https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/_files/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf).
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating garments and linens?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for garments and linens:
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating professional service providers?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for professional service providers:
UC Sustainable Practices Policy and Guidelines have set best practices for the purchase of services broadly. The UC system procures a multitude of professional services from small one-time engagements to large multi-year partnerships. As per the UC Sustainable Practices Policy - Section G.5, university has committed to allocating a minimum of 15% of the points utilized in competitive solicitation evaluations to sustainability criteria including but not limited to supplier diversity, supplier practices (corporate social responsibility policies and practices) as well as contributions to health and wellbeing. This requirement is to be effective from July 1st, 2019.
Refer the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices (https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/SustainablePractices) for more details.
Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating transportation and fuels?:
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:
As per the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices (Section D.1), zero emission vehicles (ZEV) or hybrid vehicles shall account for at least 50% of all new light-duty vehicle acquisitions across all UC locations by 2025. Further, being consistent with the State of California goal of increasing alternative fuel, specifically electric-vehicle usage, the University shall promote purchases and support investment in alternative fuel infrastructure at each location with a goal of having at least 4.5% of commuter vehicles be ZEV, by 2025 (Section D.3).
Refer the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices (https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/SustainablePractices) for more details.
Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable procurement program or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UC has set the following major targets for its campuses procurement spend (effective August 2018):
- Reach 100% compliance with Required Level Green Spend criteria within three (3) fiscal years of the addition of a given product and/or product category to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
- Reach 25% Green Spend as a total percentage of spend per product category within three (3) fiscal years of that product and/or product category being added to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
- Reach 25% Economically and Socially Responsible Spend as a total percentage of addressable spend within five (5) fiscal years.
The UC Sustainable Procurement Working Group includes procurement officers from each of the 10 UC campuses and meets regularly throughout the year to discuss and work on implementation of the Sustainable Procurement section of the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, and to consider updates and refinements to the policy and procurement guidelines.
Further details are available in the website URL provided above.
Vindyani Jayasinghe, a visiting Humphrey Fellow with the Office of Sustainability, assisted in compiling this credit response.
UC has set the following major targets for its campuses procurement spend (effective August 2018):
- Reach 100% compliance with Required Level Green Spend criteria within three (3) fiscal years of the addition of a given product and/or product category to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
- Reach 25% Green Spend as a total percentage of spend per product category within three (3) fiscal years of that product and/or product category being added to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
- Reach 25% Economically and Socially Responsible Spend as a total percentage of addressable spend within five (5) fiscal years.
The UC Sustainable Procurement Working Group includes procurement officers from each of the 10 UC campuses and meets regularly throughout the year to discuss and work on implementation of the Sustainable Procurement section of the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, and to consider updates and refinements to the policy and procurement guidelines.
Further details are available in the website URL provided above.
Vindyani Jayasinghe, a visiting Humphrey Fellow with the Office of Sustainability, assisted in compiling this credit response.
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.