| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.61 |
| Liaison | Tina Woolston |
| Submission Date | Nov. 2, 2022 |
Tufts University
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
William
Thistle Director of Purchasing Purchasing |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Institution-wide sustainable procurement policies
Yes
A copy of the policies, guidelines or directives:
The policies, guidelines or directives:
Provided in the uploaded file
Part 2. Life Cycle Cost Analysis
Yes
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:
All capital projects that receive financing at Tufts are required to use LCCA when evaluating energy-using products and systems. LCCA was recommended to Tufts from the 2020 Decarbonization report written by external consultant, Ecosystems.
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
Yes
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for chemically intensive products and services:
Tufts University Pesticide Policy, September 2021
• The Tufts campus is an urban campus located in a densely populated section of two cities, Medford, and Somerville. The largest open field areas of the University are dedicated for athletic and recreational sports use which requires that the surfaces be smooth, even, and safe to play sports. Grass covered surfaces must be maintained in accordance with athletic and sport field standards which sometimes requires application of both fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to assure compliance.
• Open spaces that are not dedicated to field, sports and recreational uses are considered formal and informal garden areas which means lawn areas as well as planted spaces.
• Tufts will not apply pesticides or herbicides for appearances only but to achieve the goals set for the relatively small area of field and garden areas on the urban campus.
• Pesticides and herbicides are used to manage and control weeds and invasive plant growth, reduce hardscape damage, maintain walks, decrease rodent/insect activity and to increase crime prevention visibility which are all necessary on an urban campus.
Tufts follows all state and federal guidelines and regulations pertaining to use of pesticides and herbicides on campus
Employees who apply unrestricted pesticides or herbicides are trained and possess the necessary licensing required by the state.
Tufts does not authorize the use of the product commonly known as Round-Up.
Tufts uses unrestricted pesticides in combination with organic pesticides and herbicides.
Unrestricted and organic products are applied for pre - and post-emergent applications.
Tufts currently contracts C&W Custodial Services on a green cleaning program:
"Our purchasing team develops agreements with selected manufacturers for consumable products that reduce harmful contaminants to the facility and reduce excess packaging. These two complementary goals create healthier, greener workplaces while helping to reduce costs in purchasing, operating and disposal.At our client accounts, as well as at C&W Services offices, we make buying decisions seeking to:▪Reduce and eliminate toxic compounds from cleaning and maintenance materials and products (Green Seal certified products receive preferential consideration)▪Reduce air borne particulates and volatile organic compounds in the workplace▪Purchase chemical concentrates to minimize waste by reducing the volume/weight of packaging and utilize reusable shipping materials▪Purchase products with recycled material content, locally produced and containing at least 20% post-consumer content▪Buy products containing 50% bio-based rapidly renewable materials and/or at least 50% Forest Stewardship Council certified paper products▪Pursue innovations and products that help increase operating efficiencies, conserve energy and water.The chemicals used in our GreenClean program follow all criteria as outlined in the GS-42 Standard, including the use of chemical disinfectants."
See C&W Custodial Services in OP-3 and OP-13
• The Tufts campus is an urban campus located in a densely populated section of two cities, Medford, and Somerville. The largest open field areas of the University are dedicated for athletic and recreational sports use which requires that the surfaces be smooth, even, and safe to play sports. Grass covered surfaces must be maintained in accordance with athletic and sport field standards which sometimes requires application of both fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to assure compliance.
• Open spaces that are not dedicated to field, sports and recreational uses are considered formal and informal garden areas which means lawn areas as well as planted spaces.
• Tufts will not apply pesticides or herbicides for appearances only but to achieve the goals set for the relatively small area of field and garden areas on the urban campus.
• Pesticides and herbicides are used to manage and control weeds and invasive plant growth, reduce hardscape damage, maintain walks, decrease rodent/insect activity and to increase crime prevention visibility which are all necessary on an urban campus.
Tufts follows all state and federal guidelines and regulations pertaining to use of pesticides and herbicides on campus
Employees who apply unrestricted pesticides or herbicides are trained and possess the necessary licensing required by the state.
Tufts does not authorize the use of the product commonly known as Round-Up.
Tufts uses unrestricted pesticides in combination with organic pesticides and herbicides.
Unrestricted and organic products are applied for pre - and post-emergent applications.
Tufts currently contracts C&W Custodial Services on a green cleaning program:
"Our purchasing team develops agreements with selected manufacturers for consumable products that reduce harmful contaminants to the facility and reduce excess packaging. These two complementary goals create healthier, greener workplaces while helping to reduce costs in purchasing, operating and disposal.At our client accounts, as well as at C&W Services offices, we make buying decisions seeking to:▪Reduce and eliminate toxic compounds from cleaning and maintenance materials and products (Green Seal certified products receive preferential consideration)▪Reduce air borne particulates and volatile organic compounds in the workplace▪Purchase chemical concentrates to minimize waste by reducing the volume/weight of packaging and utilize reusable shipping materials▪Purchase products with recycled material content, locally produced and containing at least 20% post-consumer content▪Buy products containing 50% bio-based rapidly renewable materials and/or at least 50% Forest Stewardship Council certified paper products▪Pursue innovations and products that help increase operating efficiencies, conserve energy and water.The chemicals used in our GreenClean program follow all criteria as outlined in the GS-42 Standard, including the use of chemical disinfectants."
See C&W Custodial Services in OP-3 and OP-13
Consumable office products
Yes
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for consumable office products:
https://sustainability.tufts.edu/get-involved/employees/green-purchasing/
Furniture and furnishings
Yes
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings:
The Offices of Procurement, Planning and Capital Renewal and Capital Programs have made significant progress in specifying/requesting sustainable options for university furniture solicitations, for both interior and exterior use. There is a clear expectation that responses shall thoughtfully reflect products that reduce environmental impacts –prioritizing the use of low emitting materials and recycled contents wherever possible. Examples of such include the outdoor Adirondack chairs, which are high density polyethylene, made with recycled materials. Another is the new solar powered charging tables, increasing the use of renewable energy, promoting health and wellness by enabling folks to work, eat or relax outdoors while charging devices.
Information Technology (IT) and equipment
Yes
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for Information Technology (IT) and equipment:
All Dell, Lenovo, and Apple desktops/laptops/monitors Tufts buys are ePEAT Gold.
Food service providers
Yes
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food service providers:
Tufts Dining-managed retail locations on the Medford/Somerville campus were all 3-star rated by the Green Restaurant Association. A section from their agreement is below. They perform a list of items required across 7 areas that each dining unit must fulfill including committing to a predetermined level of sustainability. If they achieve a certain level, they are considered Green Restaurant Certified. Currently all units except the SMFA Café are part of this agreement. Dining has also committed to local sourcing goals to support local businesses and reduce their carbon footprint as part of sustainability. They had a goal of 20% local by 2020. Currently they are at 23.3%. They define local as locally sourced or produced withing 250 miles of the Medford campus. Dining also engages Newport Biodiesel to collect used fryer oil and grease. This supports sustainability efforts as they turn the used product into clean burning fuel. To further reduce the waste stream dining commits to purchasing containers made of polypropylene #5 plastic that can be recycled with our current hauler. All food waster is also composted and collected by a waste hauler for processing off-site. Other efforts include purchasing Energy Star rated equipment whenever possible, hosting "Scrape Your Plate" events that highlight the level of food waste by students, and engaging students in a reusable container program.
Garments and linens
No
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for garments and linens:
---
Professional service providers
Yes
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for professional service providers:
Design firms are required contractually to address sustainable products, materials and building orientation.
Sustainable practices and products are required to be explored for projects.
Sustainable practices and products are required to be explored for projects.
Transportation and fuels
Yes
A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for transportation and fuels:
As part of the recent solicitation, selection and award process for the outsourcing of the University Transportation Shuttle, suppliers were heavily influenced to work cohesively with Tufts during the course of their agreement to examine and present updates on alternative ways of achieving a carbon neutral or zero emission fleet, powered by renewable energy or other methods, in accordance with the Tufts University Sustainability Plan. This passage is now an expectation within the awarded suppliers agreement and will continue to evolve over the course of the engagement. Tufts is pleased to report that we currently have a fleet running on biodiesel and idle reduction systems with one shuttle now being hybrid electric. This awarded supplier also has an expectation to produce dashboard reporting to Tufts University as it relates to vehicle usage, for sustainability analytics and/or reporting requirements.
Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.