Going Green in a Sea of Orange Clemson’s Experience with Implementation Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy

Sustainable Procurement Also called "Affirmative Procurement," “Environmentally Preferable Procurement/ Purchasing” and "Green Purchasing," this approach means integrating environmental factors into procurement policies, using the following tools and/or methods: Pollution Prevention: From the start of a process or specification, reducing or eliminating toxicity, air and water emissions Life-Cycle Perspective: Looking beyond purchase price; consider costs and environmental impacts over the lifetime of a product or service (manufacturing, packaging, transport, energy consumption, maintenance, disposal) Natural Resource Protection: Giving preference to sustainable, reusable content, and recycled materials over virgin materials, as well as to conserving water and energy

The business case – why do it at Clemson? Employee expectations Stakeholder demands Benchmarking Customer requirements Risk management Legislation & Standards Business efficiencies Impact Reduction (environmental) eauc (Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges)

Barriers to Sustainable Procurement Training - Procurement staff is not trained in sustainability issues and does not understand how to achieve the targets. The will to procure in a sustainable manner may be there, but skills to make it happen may not Decentralization - Even with a high level commitment (policies and specific targets) it becomes diluted by the time it reaches the departments. The sustainability issues are lost and replaced instead by ‘best value’ often easily translated to cheapest price.

Operating with De-Centralize Procurement Large expenditure made at departmental level How to get departmental budget holders to implement sustainable purchasing? Procurement Office examining commodity groups Task groups in departments to identify common purchasing interests (e.g. cleaning products) e-Procurement (e.g. list of preferred suppliers; identify materials in stock; flag up sustainable options) How to tackle principal investigators?

Principal Investigators PIs make many of the procurement decisions Many PIs not committed to implementing the policy Progress could be achieved by: Ensure administration influences procurement processes Staff development for PIs to show how sustainable procurement helps achieve their personal sustainability agenda Recognize the achievements of PIs who have given weight to sustainability in their purchasing

Our Approach 1) Procurement Services takes active role in identifying, testing, and encouraging purchases Authorizing contracts and enabling policy Train Procurement Staff 2) Target Products Develop criteria, identify & encourage use of “green” products 3) Train campus & utilize vendors Employee orientation, P-card holders, other purchasers Ensure vendors understand goals & promote “green” products

Examples of University Policies Comprehensive Environmental Policy at University of Oregon Environmentally Responsible Purchasing Policies. The University recognizes that one of the primary methods of exercising its commitment to environmental responsibility is through its purchasing choices. The University will strive to obtain maximum value for its expenditure and will work towards obtaining the “best value” by balancing short and long-term costs, maintenance, lifecycle, and environmental costs in purchasing goods and services. Energy Efficient Purchasing Policy at UNC Chapel Hill To take advantage of these benefits, purchasers of electricity-consuming equipment at UNC Chapel Hill will henceforth consider energy efficiency as criteria in selecting equipment to be purchased. The purchaser should whenever feasible purchase an item certified under the EPA Energy Star program (see http://www.energystar.gov).

Clemson Policy A. All Clemson University personnel will purchase recycled and environmentally preferable products whenever practicable. B. Clemson University should promote the use of recycled and other environmentally preferable products by publicizing its procurement program. C. The University Procurement Department will make every effort to secure contracts with vendors that are environmentally conscientious whenever practicable. D.  Procure environmentally preferable products and services where criteria have been established by governmental or other widely recognized authorities (e.g. Energy Star, EPA Eco Purchasing Guidelines). E.  Integrate environmental factors into the University's buying decisions where external authorities have not established criteria.  F.  Examples of preferable practices or products: …

Clemson Policy - Checklist When purchasing, ask a supplier these questions. But first, determine if the product or service is truly necessary. Purchasing will need to be balanced with issues of product performance, cost, and availability. (1)   Waste reduction: Is the product durable? Can it be easily and economically serviced and maintained? Is the product designed to reduce consumption and minimize waste? Is the product reusable? Is the product technically and economically recyclable in the immediate area? Do facilities and internal collection systems exist to recycle the product? Can the product be returned to the supplier at the end of its useful life? Is the product compostable and are systems in place to compost the product on or off-site? Will the product biodegrade over time into harmless elements? (2)   Packaging: Is the product necessary? Can it be eliminated? Is minimal packaging used? Is the product packaged in bulk? Is the packaging reusable or recyclable? Are recycled materials used to produce the packaging and at what percent post-consumer waste? Can the packaging be returned to the supplier? Is the packaging compostable? (3)   Material source: Are recycled materials used in the product? If so, what percentage? What percentage of post-consumer materials is used? If wood is used in the product, what is its source and how is it harvested? Is the product manufactured from tropical rainforest wood? (4)   Energy efficiency: Is the product energy efficient compared to competitive products? Can the product be recharged? Can the product run on renewable fuels? Does the product require less energy to manufacture than competing products? (5)   Supplier environmental record: Is the company producing the product in compliance with all environmental laws and regulations? What is the company's record in handling environmental and safety issues? Can the company verify all environmental claims? Does the manufacturer/supplier have a company environmental policy statement? What programs are in place/planned for promoting resource efficiency? Are printed materials available documenting these programs? Has the company conducted an environmental or waste audit? Is the product supplier equipped to bid and bill electronically? Has an environmental life-cycle analysis of the product (and its packaging) been conducted by a certified testing organization, such as Green Seal?

Sustainable Procurement in Action Contracts Light replacement – T12 to T8 Janitorial Supplies & Janitorial Services Contracts – “green” criteria Enterprise – requirement for hybrid / green evaluation criteria Laundry – Energy Savings Chiller Replacement – life cycle cost analysis Other “Green Monday” with OfficeMax = 44,197lbs CO2 reduction (6 cars on highway) HP Recycling – Purchase Edge Points Recycled Paper

Questions???