Measures of Success

  • In May 2018, the Green Electronics Council (GEC) who manages the EPEAT ecolabel, announced UCSB as a winner of the 2018 EPEAT Purchaser Award.
  • UCSB improved its green spend percentage from the 2015-2016 to the 2016-2017 academic year:
    • EPEAT Gold registered electronics purchases increased from 51% to 91%.
    • EPA Safer Choice, UL Ecologo, or Green Seal certified cleaning product purchases increased from 30% to 38%.
    • FSC certified janitorial paper purchases increased from 90% to 95%.
    • 90-100% post-consumer recycled or FSC Recycled label office paper purchases increased from 20% to 26%.
  • Over 312 excess chemicals have been shared through a collaborative program built by Environmental Health and Safety and LabRATS
  • In 2016, Procurement collaborated with Facilities Management and Residential Services to develop a module within the Pest Management RFP that ensures sustainable bee capturing in lieu of extermination.[4]

Commitments

  • In 2004, the University of California, Santa Barbara hired a staff member to work on the University of California systemwide strategic sourcing agreements. This person developed the methodologies for imbedding environmentally preferable procurement into our RFP’s and worked with partners from each campus to develop scoring for the selection of awards.
  • The UC Sustainable Practices Policy states that, “Environmentally preferable purchasing underlies and enables all other areas of sustainable practice” and that it “will maximize its procurement of environmentally preferable products and services.”
  • UC policy requires all desktop computers, laptops, and computer monitors purchased to have a minimum Bronze-level registration or higher under EPEAT.
  • UCSB and UC policy requires the purchase of a minimum 30% PCW recycled content paper for all routine office tasks.
  • In 2015, UCSB Procurement hired a Sustainable Procurement Analyst to improve compliance with UCSB’s Policy on Sustainable Procurement and Use Practices, identify opportunities where UCSB can reduce its environmental impact through strategic sourcing agreements, and track and measure benefits of environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP).
  • New UC Systemwide Sustainability Practices Policy sets the following targets:
    • 100% compliance with UC Required Level Green Spend criteria, within three (3) fiscal years.
    • 25% spend with products meeting UC Preferred Level Green criteria, per product category, within three (3) fiscal years.
    • 25% spend with Economically and Socially Responsible (EaSR) suppliers, as a percentage of total addressable spend, within five (5) fiscal years.
    • 15% of total points utilized in competitive solicitation evaluations allotted to sustainability factors (exceptions allowed; beginning FY19-20).

Ongoing Practices and Programs

  • The Small Business Program (SBP) is responsible for ensuring equal opportunities in business contracting at the Santa Barbara campus for all small business enterprises (SBE), including: small disadvantaged businesses (SDB); women-owned small businesses (WOSB); veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB); service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB); and historically underutilized businesses zone (HUBZone) small businesses.
  • Potential suppliers must exhibit, to the respective commodity teams, recycled content product offerings, energy-efficient product offerings, reduced packaging, and product recycling and disposal programs. A supplier’s failure to respond to these bid requirements ensures that they will not succeed in obtaining a University of California contract.

More Information

[1] FSC Recycled means the product comes from 100% recycled fiber, with a minimum 85% being postconsumer waste (PCW) recycled; FSC Mix means the product is manufactured with FSC-certified virgin material, recycled material, and/or controlled wood (https://www.paperspecs.com/paper-news/understanding-fsc-labels-2/).

[2] As of FY15/16, EPEAT included product ratings for PCs and displays, imaging equipment, and TVs (http://www.epeat.net/about-epeat/).

[3] According to STARS 2.1 Technical Manual criteria

[4]http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/016722/bee-friendly. For other examples of sustainability achieved through RFP’s see: http://www.bfs.ucsb.edu/procurement/ucsb%E2%80%99s-progress/sustainability-achieved-through-bids