Guidelines and Criteria: Campus-wide

Contracting for Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) options can take place at UCOP, but truly implementing a sustainable purchasing strategy requires campus-wide engagement. It is important for purchasers, campus customers, end-users, and administrators to have a stake in the entire process. To make sustainability a priority, involving a wide range of people with different levels of responsibility and perspectives is essential to effective implementation.

The following provides suggestions of some organizational steps that departments can implement to make purchasing a tool to enhance a campus sustainability efforts.

Make sustainability a priority:

In reviewing current procedures or implementing new programs, it is important that sustainability concerns be taken into consideration from the onset and consistently addressed throughout each process.

Communicate, Collaborate, and Commit:

In time of budget shortfalls, getting the discussion of sustainability started is challenging, but it is a vital first step. Opening communication, a space for dialog, active collaboration, and a commitment to working together is critical to the foundation of any strategy. Consider widening the conversation to related departments or calling in expertise throughout campus. There is no need to reinvent the wheel – many departments have programs in place to increase sustainability efforts. Talk to other members of the campus community and build on what is already in place.

Provide Education and Training:

Creating awareness and a baseline understanding of the "what, why, and how" involved with making changes is crucial to making any process work. Available resources (e.g. vendor training for different product or service applications) can and should be utilized. As members of the department are involved in implementing changes, excitement and commitment to the changes will take place – generate a buzz, and some of the other steps will become easier.

Develop a Policy:

Putting your goals and objectives into writing can help ensure that they will be followed and will increase the likelihood that they will be achieved. The effectiveness of any process is dependent upon both the respective needs of the institution for which it is developed and the stakeholders involved in the various processes. Keep communication open to be sure that all areas of concern are addressed. It is valuable to remember that sustainability implies a great deal of overlap and interdependence. It requires us to look both up and down stream (and along the stream banks) for creative solutions.

Cooperative Purchasing and Strategic Sourcing:

Leveraging the collective purchasing power of an institution can greatly reduce costs and can also lend itself toward positive market transformations (e.g. bringing more sustainable products and services to end users). The University strives to establish cross-functional teams to examine the range of considerations that go into a contract or purchasing agreement to ensure that the right value is assigned to the many issues of importance. Incorporating sustainability into this process is incredibly valuable on multiple levels. It educates those involved, brings people from different sectors together to address common concerns, and can ultimately produce a more efficient and cost effective means to bringing environmentally preferable products and services onto campus.

Request for Proposals/Quotes, Contracts, and Purchase Orders:

Campus has made a commitment to include sustainability language and specifications for environmentally preferable products and services into our documented purchasing processes. By including such criteria, vendors will be required to accommodate these needs in an agreed upon manner. Creation of a general clause that is included in all of our agreements, and incorporating the appropriate language as needed on a commodity-by-commodity basis, increases the flow of green products to our campus.

E-procurement and Online Catalogs:

Electronic processes are often quicker, more efficient, and can streamline data collection and monitoring processes. They can have the added benefit of increasing the visibility of environmentally preferable products and services to campus customers by highlighting these offerings through online catalogs. To further advances in this area, Central Stores has worked to build a catalog of environmental products. As you purchase items for departmental use, consider searching Central Stores or one of our third party certification programs for green options.

Collect, Measure, and Benchmark Data:

Determining the progress made via these efforts is impossible without baseline data. Campus works with vendors to assist in compiling portions of this information. On campus, reaching out to stakeholders and end-users to ensure that the appropriate steps are taken to capture and monitor sustainability data is essential. While many campus efforts are tracked centrally, creation of your own benchmarks and tracking your successes can be a good way to involve department participants. These data may also prove beneficial in other sustainability efforts like our move to certify all campus buildings in LEED EB.