University of West Georgia
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

See attached: purchasing guidelines for all divisions across campus.

As per UWG's water and energy management plans: "After we identify the water efficiency opportunities, we will perform an economic analysis to determine if the projects are life cycle cost-effective." "In calculating return on investment for larger purchases, such as HVAC systems, a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) should be employed. LCCA is a method for assessing the total cost of ownership over the life cycle of a product or system (i.e. purchase, installation, operation, maintenance, and disposal). "

As Per UWG's Green Purchasing Guide: GREEN CLEANING Guideline : Whenever practical, cleaning solvents should be biodegradable, phosphatefree and citrus-based where their use will not compromise quality of service such as Green Seal or Safer Choice certified products. (Refer to University Building Standards for more information). TOXINS & POLLUTION PREVENTION Guideline : Whenever possible, avoid the purchase and use of substances that contain toxic materials or ingredients. Guideline : With the exception of fluorescent lamps and sealed lead batteries, all products and equipment purchased should not contain lead, PCBs, or mercury. When unavoidable, preference should be given to those products with lower quantities of these metals and to vendors with established lead and mercury recovery programs. Also, per UWG's Green Housekeeping Program: UWG is committed to all best practices and guidelines such as purchasing Green Seal, EcoLogo, or Safer Choice certified products and/or cleaning solvents that are biodegradable, phosphate-free and citrus-based. Whenever practical, and where there use will not compromise quality of service, UWG will purchase green cleaning products. In 2015, UWG piloted an on-sight cleaning chemical generation program called Orbio. The generation uses water softener pool salt pellets, water and electricity to produce two cleaning products. One product is for general purpose cleaning (glass, elevators, counters, floors and carpets) the other product is a disinfectant made up of a hypochlorus solution. UWG uses these products in our own spray bottles, mop buckets, carpet cleaners and powered equipment. UWG has fully adopted this system and has eliminated several (“Non-Green”) products, and replaced them with Orbio solutions. The Orbio system reduced chemical purchase costs; task activity costs, and saves on energy because it requires “cold water only”.

In accordance with the Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Act of 2008, UWG, as all state institutions, are mandated to follow specific construction guidelines, which includes guidelines on building materials and furnishings. Two key aims of this mandate are: • Increase the demand for materials and furnishings produced in Georgia, conserve energy • Improve the environmental quality in this state, protect the state’s natural resources, and reduce the burden on the state’s water supply With regard to water furnishings: All major facility projects shall be designed, constructed, and commissioned or modeled to achieve a 15 percent reduction in water use when compared to water use based on plumbing fixture selection in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The Water-Use Reduction requirement should be taken into consideration with the Governor’s Water Conservation Challenge. The Challenge commits all state agencies and authorities in Georgia to implement practices that help reduce water usage by 5% over the next two years and 2% annually thereafter through the year 2020. Reductions will be calculated on a per square foot basis, using fiscal year 2007 as the baseline. Potential Technologies & Strategies: Utilize high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings, such as low-flow fixtures, and other devices to reduce water use by 15 percent as compared to a baseline design complying with the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Refer to the supplementary form provided in Section 2.2 – Water-Use Reduction, Commentary and Checklists for alternative plumbing fixture and fitting options to determine the most highly-efficient plumbing system. With regard to building materials: All major facility projects shall include Georgia products such that not less than 10 percent of all building materials used in a project are harvested, extracted, or manufactured in the State of Georgia where such products are commercially available. The following sections of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A) contain laws referencing the purchase of Georgia products. Additional information regarding these laws may be obtained through the Department of Administrative Services. 50-5-[60-61] "Preference for Georgia Supplies, materials, equipment and agriculture products." 50-5-62 "Preference for Local Sellers of Georgia Products" 50-5-63 "Preference for Georgia Forest Products" Potential Technologies & Strategies: Establish a project goal for implementing Georgia-sourced building materials. Identify materials and material suppliers that can assist in achieving the 10 percent minimum requirement. The 10 percent minimum should be applied in terms of materials and products cost. During construction, ensure that the specified Georgia-sourced materials are being installed.

As per UWG's Green Purchasing Guidelines: Guideline : When purchasing vehicles and mobile equipment, the University should acquire fuel-efficient vehicles, such as those that adhere to CAFE standards, or less-polluting alternatives to gasoline or diesel fuel. Alternative fuels should be considered when the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and consumption of the alternative fuel is less than the emissions from an equivalent conventional fuel. Alternatives may include compressed natural gas, bio-based fuels, hybrids, electric batteries, and fuel cells.

UWG's Green Purchasing Guidelines states: Guideline : All wood based products that the University purchases should be certified as sustainably harvested by a comprehensive, performance-based certification system, such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), or its equivalent. Purchase of previously used or salvaged wood and wood products is encouraged whenever practicable. The use of tropical hardwoods should be avoided. (Refer to University Design Manual for more information) In addition: 2016 Georgia Code mandates recycled paper purchasing as follows: Universal Citation: GA Code § 50-5-60.2 (2016) (b) At least 95 percent of moneys spent on printing and writing paper purchased by state agencies, commissions, and authorities shall be spent upon recycled content paper which meets or exceeds Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for minimum recycled content; provided, however, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply if the price of recycled content paper required by this Code section exceeds 8 percent of the price paid by the Department of Administrative Services for 100 percent virgin paper products or if the recycled content paper required by this Code section does not meet the standards, quality level, and specifications established by the Department of Administrative Services.