Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.74
Liaison Carrie Metzgar
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of California, San Diego
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 3.00 Michelle Perez
Energy and Sustainability Manager
Utilities and 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 multiple commodity categories institution-wide?:
Yes

A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
The policies, guidelines or directives:
UC Sustainable Practices Policy states:

- 100% compliance with Required Level Green Spend criteria within three (3) fiscal years of the addition of those products and/or product categories to the Guidelines.

- 25% Green Spend as a total percentage of spend per product category; target to be reached within three (3) fiscal years after a category is added to the Guidelines.

- 25% Socially and Economically Responsible Spend as a total percentage of addressable spend; target to be reached within five (5) fiscal years of adoption of this section of the Guidelines.

In addition to these targets, the policy requires reporting on ""Sustainable Spend"", defined as those areas where Green Spend and Socially and Economically Responsible Spend overlap from beginning 2018/19 fiscal year.

The policy will also require a minimum of 15% of the points utilized in competitive solicitation evaluations to be allotted for sustainability criteria (for example: sustainable product attributes, supplier diversity, supplier practices, contributions to health and wellbeing, and materials safety).

Finally, the poilcy update will include sustainable practices required of University procurement teams, including: consideration of take-back programs, total cost of ownership analysis, packaging requirements, and partnering with suppliers on transparency to enhance sustainable outcomes throughout the supply chain.

Environmentally preferred purchasing policy prior to March 2018 can still be found at:

The University of California Sustainable Practices Policy: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices

The University of California BUS-43/Material Management: (pages 3, 33, 54, 55) https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3220485/BFB-BUS-43.

The University of California BUS-8/Acquisition and Disposition of University Vehicles: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3220475 .and UC San Diego Policy BFB-BUS-8 http://adminrecords.ucsd.edu/ppm/docs/551-2.HTML

The University of California BUS-19/Registration and Licensing of University-Owned Vehicles: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3220476.

The University of California Management of Health, Safety and the Environment: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3500506 .

Does the institution employ Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) when evaluating energy- and water-using products and systems?:
No

Which of the following best describes the institution’s use of LCCA?:
Institution employs LCCA less comprehensively, e.g. for certain types of systems or projects and not others

A brief description of the LCCA policy and/or practices:
In 2018/2019, UC San Diego began looking to implement life cycle cost analysis in new building design and construction decision-making, along with total cost of ownership analysis as part of its procurement decisions.

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating chemically intensive products and services?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for chemically intensive products and services:
As noted in the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, UC San Diego prioritizes purchasing of products that have received the following third-party certifications and ratings: GREENGUARD®, Green Seal®, UL ECOLOGO, and EPA Design for the Environment Program's Safer Choice.

Additionally, UC San Diego adopted a campuswide Green Cleaning policy (included in additional documentation) as a campus LEED O+M Master Site credit. The policy includes specific sustainability criteria related to purchasing cleaning supplies and hand soaps that will result in the following:

- Ensure that 80% of all cleaning products, by cost, meet LEED sustainability criteria, and maintain an 80% or greater threshold when purchasing cleaning products in the future. This will reduce the exposure of building staff and occupants to potentially hazardous chemical, biological, and particle contamination.

- Ensure that 40% (or greater) of all cleaning equipment, by number of units, meet LEED criterion for green cleaning equipment. For existing equipment that does not meet the criteria, develop a phase-out plan for its replacement with environmentally preferable products at the end of its useful life.

- Strive to follow the operating procedures that have been established for hard floor and carpet maintenance while being aware of the varying health related sensitivities of all employees.

- Select strategies to promote and improve hand hygiene.

- Administer annual staff training workshops for the proper storage, handling and use of cleaning products and equipment. Furthermore, all new employees handling cleaning products and equipment must be provided training before performing duties.

- Put in place a method for occupants to express their opinions on the effectiveness of janitorial duties. Changes should be made as necessary to maintain a level of comfort for all occupants.

- Select strategies to reduce the effects that cleaning has on energy and water usage and the introduction of toxic chemicals into the building.

- Select and appropriately use disinfectants and sanitizers to reduce levels of chemical, biological, and particulate contamination in the building.

- Develop and implement a contingency plan to manage staffing shortages under a variety of conditions to ensure that basic cleaning services are met and critical cleaning needs are addressed. Include a process to obtain occupant and custodial staff input and feedback after contingency plans are implemented.

Also, through the campuses "ChemCycle" program, researchers are encouraged to use/reuse surplus chemicals, rather than buying new. This practices helps to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals used by the University.

In addition to the documentation included, pertinent information to support this credit can be found at the following URL:

https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices

http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/hazardous-waste/chemcycle.html

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating consumable office products?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for consumable office products:
The University phased out the use of virgin paper and adopted a minimum
standard of 30% Post-Consumer Waste (PCW) recycled content paper to be
used in all office equipment (e.g., multi-function devices, copiers, printers, and
fax machines). 100% Post-Consumer Content paper is promoted through our online procurement system, Marketplace.

UCOP Sustainable Practices state that:

https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

Required:
A minimum of 30% PCRC or agricultural residue content (or GS-07certified)

Preferred:
100% PCRC or agricultural residue content, or FSC Recycled labelled, with additional preference for paper that is PCF

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating furniture and furnishings?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings:
UCOP Sustainable Procurement Guidelines delineate sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings. https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

Furniture and Furnishings:
Must meet all of the following:
● GREENGUARD Gold or SCS Indoor Advantage Gold
● Free of the 6 classes of chemicals of concern as described in Section 7.E.

Must have at least one of the following additional certifications:
● BIFMA Level certified (preference for 2 or 3)
● C2C Certified (preference for Silver or Gold)
● HHI compliant with published product list on their website
● FSC Certified wood
● Textiles certified by one of the recognized certifications
● Complete HPD
● Complete Declare label


UC San Diego's has long been a leader in employing green building practices and
standards in its capital project and renovation programs. All design, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction of buildings owned by the campus will comply with green building/sustainability and energy-efficient building standards. Specifically, all new construction and major renovation projects will meet LEED- NC Silver requirements, and all existing building projects will follow the UC Sustainable Practices Policy and LEED Master Site Policies. Areas specifically to be considered include:
• Site conservation and sustainable planning;
• Water conservation and efficiency;
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy;
• Conservation of materials and resources; and
• Indoor environmental quality and human health.

Life-Cycle costing, including the initial cost of its construction or renovation, the marginal cost of future energy capacity, the cost of the energy consumed by the facility over its expected useful life and the cost of operating and maintaining the facility as such cost affects energy consumption will be considered in the project.

UCSD’s Green Building and sustainability requirements for new construction can also be found at: https://plandesignbuild.ucsd.edu/design/green-building.html.

Additionally, as required by the UC Sustainable Practices Policy (https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices), all new construction and major renovation projects will be at least LEED Silver, and strive for Gold. These projects will also achieve at least 20% above the California Title 24 Energy code requirements and strive for 30% above. In addition, through the LEED process, projects purchase locally made or produced and non-toxic furnishings and materials, and reused items like furniture through UCSD’s Surplus Sales. Also, as noted in the attached additional documentation all professional service design agreements include requirements for the design professional to incorporate green building strategies into the design to meet the credits listed as baseline in the University’s Green Building Baseline form. The Design Professional shall incorporate additional strategies into the design as needed to achieve a minimum LEED Silver level certification. Under these agreements, design professionals will also provide designs that outperform Title 24 energy standards by 30%. If process loads are present, they will recommend strategies to reduce process loads to 20% less than expected for a building designed to current institutional standards. To ensure sustainability criteria are included in the design, the “Sustainability Scoresheet” that is included under additional documentation is used during the design process.

In addition to the additional documentation included, pertinent information to support this credit can be found at the following URLs:

https://plandesignbuild.ucsd.edu/design/green-building.html

https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices

https://www.ucop.edu/construction-services/facilities-manual/contract-templates-design/edpa.html

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating Information technology (IT) and equipment?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for Information Technology (IT) and equipment:
In accordance with the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, all desktop computers, laptops, and computer monitors purchased by the University are required to have achieved a minimum Bronze-level registration or higher under the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®), where applicable. Preference is given for electronics products that have achieved EPEAT® Silver or EPEAT® Gold registration. The registration criteria and a list of all registered equipment are provided at EPEAT. All recyclers of the University’s electronic equipment must be e-Steward certified by the Basel Action Network (BAN) (www.ban.org). In cases where the University has established take-back programs with a manufacturer, the University will encourage the manufacturer to become a BAN-certified eSteward Enterprise (e-Stewards for Enterprises).

As noted these requirements are set forth in the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, which can be found at https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices . Additional information on UCSD's EPP program can be found at https://blink.ucsd.edu/buy-pay/responsible/environment/index.html#References

The following two URLs provide the pertinent information to support this credit:

https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices

http://blink.ucsd.edu/buy-pay/responsible/environment/index.html#References

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food service providers?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food service providers:
Campuses and Medical Centers have sustainability goals and initiatives in each of the four categories of sustainable foodservice practices listed below.

a. Food Procurement
Each campus and Medical Center foodservice operation shall strive to procure 20% sustainable food products by the year 2020, while maintaining accessibility and affordability for all students and Medical Center foodservice patrons. UC San Diego has already met this goal, which you can see via the annual UC Report on Sustainable Practices: https://sustainabilityreport.ucop.edu/locations/uc-san-diego/

b. Education
Each campus and Medical Center shall provide patrons with access to educational materials that will help support their food choices.

c. Engagement With External Stakeholders
Campus and Medical Center departments, organizations, groups, and individuals shall engage in activities with their surrounding communities that support common goals regarding sustainable food systems.

d. Sustainable Operations
Campus and Medical Center foodservice operations shall strive to earn third-party “green business” certifications for sustainable dining operations. UC San Diego University Centers already has one Green Restaurant Association-certified vendor.

2. Retail Foodservice Operations:
a. Retail foodservice tenants will strive to meet the policies in III.H.1.a-d. above. Given the constraints faced by nationally-branded franchises that must purchase food through corporate contracts, location departments managing retail foodservice tenants will have the option of meeting III.H.1.a. (procuring 20% of all sustainable food products by the year 2020) by aggregating the purchases of all retail entities under the jurisdiction of a
single operational unit on location.

b. Locations will include Section H of this Policy in lease language as new leases and contracts are negotiated or existing leases are renewed. However, locations will also work with tenants to advance sustainable foodservice practices as much as possible within the timeframe of current leases.

UCOP Sustainable Practices state that:


https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

Certified Compostable by
BPI or GS-35, or made
100% from uncoated,
unlined, obviously plantbased material, and
appears on the Cedar
Grove Accepted Items List

Meets additional
criteria as described in
the Compostable Food
Service Ware section
below

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:
UC San Diego participates in the Worker Rights Consortium and the Fair Labor Association.

http://ucop.edu/sustainability/programs-initiatives/social-sustainability/news.html

On March 17, 2017, the University of California (“UC”) issued an updated Code of Conduct for Trademark Licensees (“Code”), replacing the Code promulgated in January 2000. The updated Code, renamed the Trademark Licensing Code of Conduct Policy, conforms to UC’s policy format, clarifies the scope to apply to all UC locations, defines key terms, amends and strengthens previous provisions, and references important legislative requirements.

President Napolitano, in her letter of March 17, 2017, stated that “The policy is important to protecting the University of California brand and its reputation by ensuring that the University's trademark licensees adhere to high ethical standards in manufacturing goods bearing the names and other trademarks of the University of California and its campuses, including abbreviations, logos, mascots, seals, or other trademarks owned by the University. The revised policy makes clearer, both to the University's trademark licensees and to internal University stakeholders, the expectations and requirements that all UC logoed goods must be produced (1) under fair, safe, and humane working conditions throughout the supply chain, and (2) by companies authorized to place University's name and other trademarks on such products.” As with the 2000 Code when it was issued, the 2017 Code sets high labor standards and demonstrates the University’s commitment to the socially responsible production of its logoed goods. UC continues to demonstrate its leadership, impact, and commitment to improving worker rights and is collaborating with other national civil society leaders to guide discussion and efforts.

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating professional service providers?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for professional service providers:
As noted in the sustainable construction and renovation section, under both the campus Green Building Standards policy (included under additional documents) and the UC Sustainable Practices Policy (https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices), all new construction and major renovations projects are required to be at least LEED Silver or better and be at least 20% above Title 24 energy code, while striving for 30% above.
Also, as noted in that same section all UC standard Professional Services Agreements (PSA’s) include a requirement for the project design professionals to incorporate green building strategies into the design to meet the credits listed as baseline in the University’s Green Building Baseline form. The Design Professional shall incorporate additional strategies into the design as needed to achieve a minimum LEED Silver level certification. Under these agreements, design professionals will also provide designs that outperform Title 24 energy standards by 30%. If process loads are present, the designers must recommend strategies to reduce process loads to 20% less than expected for a building designed to current institutional standards. To ensure sustainability criteria are included in the design, the “Sustainability Scoresheet” that is included under additional documentation is used during the design process. The pertinent Design Professional agreement templates are included under the additional documentation section and can also be found at the following website:
https://www.ucop.edu/construction-services/facilities-manual/contract-templates-design/edpa.html.

Also, with respect to professional financial services, as stated in the UC Sustainable Investment Framework (https://www.ucop.edu/investment-office/_files/sustainable-investment-framework.pdf ) the UC Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents is ensuring that both internal and external fund managers understand the priority placed on sustainability and that they are assessing the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) risks in the investment process. Fund managers are also being encouraged to become Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) signatories and report on their sustainability efforts. The CFO’s office is also providing oversight and monitoring of ESG policies of the University’s external managers.

In addition to the additional documentation included, pertinent information to support this credit can be found at the following URLs:

https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices

https://www.ucop.edu/construction-services/facilities-manual/contract-templates-design/edpa.html

https://www.ucop.edu/investment-office/_files/sustainable-investment-framework.pdf

UCOP Sustainability Policy States: Each University’s Procurement department will integrate sustainability into its processes and practices, including competitive solicitations, in order to satisfy the sustainable purchasing goals outlined above for products, as well as for the procurement of services. The University will do so by: a. Allocating a minimum of 15% of the points utilized in solicitation evaluations to sustainability criteria. Criteria may include, but is not limited to, sustainable product attributes, supplier diversity, supplier practices, contributions to health and wellbeing, and materials safety. This requirement will go into effect on July 1st, 2019. Exceptions to this policy may only be granted by the appropriate Policy Exception Authority. Decisions to grant an exception shall be made in the context of a location’s need to support teaching, research and public service when there is a demonstrable case that the inclusion of a minimum of 15% of the points utilized in solicitation evaluation for sustainability criteria will conflict with the project teams’ ability to execute a competitive solicitation. b. Supporting outreach, education, and providing equal access to small, diverse, and disadvantaged suppliers for all applicable University procurement opportunities in accordance with BUS-43 policy. c. Comparing the Total Cost of Ownership when evaluating costs for goods and services in the selection of suppliers, whenever feasible.4 d. Targeting sustainable products and services for volume-discounted pricing to make less competitive or emerging sustainable products and services costcompetitive with conventional products and services. e. Leveraging its purchasing power and market presence to develop sustainable product and service options where not already available. f. Requiring packaging for all products procured by the University be designed, produced, and distributed to the end-user in a sustainable manner. g. Contracting with suppliers of products (e.g., electronics, furniture, lab consumables) that have established (preferably non-manufacturer specific) end-of-life reuse, recycling, and/or takeback programs at no extra cost to the University, and in compliance with applicable federal, state, and University regulations regarding waste disposal. h. Requiring sustainability-related purchasing claims to be supported with UCrecognized certifications and/or detailed information on proven benefits, 4 Public Contract Code§ 10507.8 states: “As provided for in this article, when the University of California determines that it can expect long-term savings through the use of life cycle cost methodology, the use of more sustainable goods and materials, and reduced administrative costs, the lowest responsible bidder may be selected on the basis of the best value to the university. In order to implement this method of selection, the Regents of the University of California shall adopt and publish policies and guidelines for evaluating bidders that ensure that best value selections by the university are conducted in a fair and impartial manner.” University of California – Policy on Sustainable Practices Sustainable Practices 16 of 39 durability, recycled content, and recyclability properties, in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Green Guides for the use of environmental marketing claims. i. Working with its suppliers to achieve greater transparency and sustainable outcomes throughout the supply chain. This may include maximizing the procurement of products that optimize the use of resources from extraction through manufacturing and distribution (e.g., EPA’s SmartWay Program).

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating transportation and fuels?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:
Over 60% of the Campus Fleet is hybrid, all-electric, or some other clean technology. For example, we have Increased our EV footprint by over 12% aided by the procurement of 50 Smart EV's (Total EV count, which includes full speed electric vehicles and NEV/LSV carts, going from 378 to 428). All Fleet and Shuttle Services’ buses run on either renewable CNG or biodiesel. We have converted all remaining diesel to R100 and CNG to RCNG through the REDEEM program. We are now exploring the use of all-electric buses.

Also, UC San Diego's policy on the Disposition and Acquisition of vehicles specifies sustainability requirements for purchase of new fleet vehicles: BFB-BUS-8 http://adminrecords.ucsd.edu/ppm/docs/551-2.HTML

UCOP Sustainable Practices state that:

1. Each location will reduce GHG emissions from its fleet and report annually on its progress. Locations shall implement strategies to reduce fleet emissions and improve the fuel efficiency of all university-owned or operated fleet vehicles and equipment where practical options exist through acquisition and fleet operation protocols. a. By 2025, zero-emission vehicles or hybrid vehicles shall account for at least 50%of all new light-duty vehicle acquisitions. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will follow federal fleet requirements in the case where federal and UC fleet requirements conflict. Zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV): As defined by the current California Air Resources
Board (CARB) ZEV program standards, a vehicle that emits no tailpipe pollutants from
the onboard source of power and may include subcategories as defined by CARB.

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:
Additional information can be found at the following URLs :

https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices

https://plandesignbuild.ucsd.edu/design/green-building.html

https://plandesignbuild.ucsd.edu/design/green-building.html

https://www.ucop.edu/construction-services/facilities-manual/contract-templates-design/edpa.html

http://blink.ucsd.edu/buy-pay/responsible/environment/index.html#References

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.