Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 79.37
Liaison Jillian Leach
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

California State University, Chico
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.75 / 3.00 Gregory Wiggins
Climate & Energy Analyst
Facilities Management & Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Institution-wide sustainable procurement policies

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:
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/6987526/latest/
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/7865355/latest/

Systemwide, CSU adheres to the following policies and guidelines:
-CSU Buy Recycled Handbook: http://www.calstate.edu/csp/special-programs/
-CSU Sustainability Policy:
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/6987526/latest/
-CSU Buy Recycled Products Campaign: https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/7865355/latest/#autoid-8qwgz
-Executive Order 987: Policy Statement on Energy Conservation, Sustainable Building Practices, and Physical Plant Management for the California State University https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/6589455/latest/

Part 2. Life Cycle Cost Analysis 

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 as a matter of policy and standard practice when evaluating all energy- and water-using products, systems and building components

A brief description of the LCCA policy and/or practices:
Energy Reduction: Per the CSU systemwide policy “Energy Conservation and Utilities Management and Energy Consumption Reduction Goal for 2004/2005 Compared to 1999/2000”

"When replacing energy consuming and/or utilities infrastructure equipment, the most cost-effective models will be selected. Life cycle costing procedures, instead of first capital cost only, will be utilized as the basis for all future equipment selection. All possible efforts will be made to secure additional funding if required to effect lowest life-cycle procurement”.

This is a CSU Policy through the State University Administrative Manual.
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/7056253/latest/

Part 3. Product-specific sustainability criteria

To count, the criteria must address the specific sustainability challenges and impacts associated with products and/or services in each category, e.g. by requiring or giving preference to multi-criteria sustainability standards, certifications and labels appropriate to the category. Broader, institution-wide policies should be reported in Part 1, above. 

Chemically intensive products and services

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:
A policy guiding the sustainable purchasing of chemicals on campus: https://www.csuchico.edu/sustainability/_assets/documents/sustainable-purchasing-guidelines-chemical-products2020.pdf

FMS Zero Waste Procurement Policy: https://www.csuchico.edu/sustainability/_assets/documents/zero-scope-1-emissions-procurement-policy.pdf

Custodial green cleaning and sanitizing: https://www.csuchico.edu/fms/custodial-green-products.shtml

Consumable office products

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating consumable office products?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for consumable office products:
Chico State Enterprises operates with a procurement policy that puts the preference of recycled products which is applicable to consumable products, stating:

"Recycled products or products that have recycled material within their content, are preferred for procurement where fitness and quality are equal and the cost is not more than the non-recycled product."

Found at https://www.csuchico.edu/cse/_assets/documents/bas/procurement-policy-and-guidelines.pdf

Furniture and furnishings

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating furniture and furnishings?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings:
N/A

Information Technology (IT) and equipment

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:
The Procurement and Contract Services department has worked with IT to centralize the purchase of IT Products and Services, most notably around the purchasing of computers. This centralization allows the campus to drive initiatives for purchasing Dell, Microsoft, and Apple EPEAT Gold certified hardware.

Computing Purchases:
The following specifications are IT Support Services standard configurations for new computing purchases. All new computer purchases should be one of these configurations. If these configurations don’t meet your needs, exceptions can be granted for legitimate business purposes. All prices below are approximate and include tax and shipping.

To request a new computer, laptop, tablet, or accessory, select this link:
https://support.csuchico.edu/TDClient/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=8033

To request a new printer, select this link:
https://support.csuchico.edu/TDClient/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=8036

Sustainability:
All systems below have an EPEAT Gold rating. For more information about the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) please visit their Website: http://www.epeat.net

Food service providers

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food service providers?:
No

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food service providers:
N/A

Garments and linens 

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:
All CSU contracts for the procurement or laundering of apparel, garments or corresponding accessories or the procurement of equipment, materials, or supplies, other than procurement related to a public works contract, shall require the contractor to certify that it has maintained a "sweat-free" workplace in compliance with Public Contracts Code Section 6108 and that they adhere to the Sweatfree Code of Conduct as set forth by the California Department of Industrial Relations.

https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/7865355/latest/#autoid-2yrak

Professional service providers

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:
CSU, Chico includes language for architects/contractors that address both sustainable designs as well as sustainable construction practices and procedures. Sample language is as follows:

Under project description:
The project will be comprised of energy efficient and sustainable design features, balanced with the program needs, within the available budget. LEED goals are set at a minimum standard equivalent to LEED Silver and will meet the CSU Sustainability Measurement System guidelines.

Under project requirements:
This project shall be designed, constructed and commissioned to meet a minimum level of Silver in the USGBC LEED v4 certification system.

Under evaluation of project specific requirements:
A building that maximizes sustainability, particularly in efficient energy usage and water reduction, is a priority for the University. What creative solutions has your team implemented on projects of a similar size and budget?

Under evaluation of work plan:
The process to identify opportunities for sustainable design and how the concepts for sustainability will be developed into the Project and maintained thru to completion.

Under Design Fee Allocation Matrix:
Environmental (Branding) Graphics/ Signs – design, scope, coordination and solicitation.

Reference to CSU design & building standards, which include things like designing to current California building codes (including energy, sustainability, etc.):
CSU Procedure Manual for Capital Projects (and about 15 other design guidelines).

Specifications to each area of design and/or construction. Specifically about waste, reuse & recycling plan: i.e. Section 01151 (for one project): CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION MATERIALS RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS

Transportation and fuels

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:
Campus Fleet Vehicles:
Requests for fleet vehicle purchases from both self-support (auxiliary) and general fund/academic departments shall be justified in writing and the justification at a minimum shall include the following information, including but not limited to a statement of how the proposed purchase supports CSU's policy to encourage and promote the use of alternative transportation and/or alternative fuels to reduce GHG emissions related to university associated transportation, including commuter and business travel and an evaluation of lower-carbon transportation alternatives evaluated.
California State and Federal Fleet mandates:
Federal Energy Policy Act – 75% alternative fuel light-duty vehicles
AB 32's Bio-energy Action Plan requires 50% of the above 75% light-duty vehicles to be flex fuel (reference: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/flextech.shtml)
10% of all light-duty fleet purchases by campuses and CSU shall be zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) in FY 2017/18, increasing by 5% annually through FY 2024/2025 to a total of 50% of light duty fleet vehicles purchases. For the purposes of this section, ZEVs are fuel cell vehicles (FCV), battery electric vehicles (BEV).
Sufficient charging/fueling infrastructure shall be available to support ZEV purchases and utilization.
Exemption to above ZEV/BEV requirement: If the campus has Telematics in 100% of ZEV fleet including Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)3 and Hybrid vehicles4 with quarterly reports demonstrating proper charging and use of PHEV vehicles. PHEV vehicles shall be considered ZEVs for purchasing vehicles.
Purchasing of light duty vehicles shall follow a priority order. If purchasing other than priority 1 vehicle type, justification in writing must be submitted for each lower priority order type of vehicle.
Campuses should consult the DGS lists of vehicles but are not required to use DGS procurement. Other local procurement options that offer better value can be utilized within campus procurement standards and the limits of this section.
CSU shall give preference to DGS management memo 12-03: solar reflective colors for light-duty vehicle acquisitions.
CSU's shall follow DGS Management Memo 15-03 (SAM Section 3620.1): average MPG requirements for light-duty vehicle acquisitions for any internal and flex fuel vehicle purchases.
For the CSU fleet vehicles policy, please visit: https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/6637418/latest/
Campus Transportation and Parking:
It is the policy of the CSU to meet the transportation needs of students, faculty, staff and visitors at its campuses with safe, equitable, and cost-effective options. CSU will use the lowest life cycle cost evaluation and greatest number of students, faculty, staff and visitors per vehicle mile traveled (VMT) served to determine its investment of scarce funding into transportation infrastructure that increases mobility and access for all.
The CSU shall use transportation options that have the lowest total cost of ownership, lowest carbon emissions and best fit for regional transportation needs to mitigate congestion and pollution while maintaining access to campus.
For the CSU Transportation and Parking policy, please visit:
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/7728108/latest/

Optional Fields 

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:
Working with the Chancellor’s Office and Staples, when campus users purchase paper through Campus Marketplace, virgin paper is auto substituted to recycled paper.

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.