Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 77.43
Liaison Elida Erickson
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of California, Santa Cruz
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.50 / 3.00 Kathleen Rogers
Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager
Procurement 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:
The University of California Terms and Conditions of Purchase, ARTICLE 22 – SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/policies-forms/uc-terms-conditions-12-14-21.pdf

The University of California Sustainable Practices Policy: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices.pdf

University of California – Policy BFB-BUS-43 Purchases of Goods and Services; Supply Chain Management: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3220485 (pages 2, 32, 33, 50, 51, 52 & 63)

The University of California BUS-8/Acquisition and Disposition of University Vehicles: https://policy.ucop.edu/manuals/business-and-finance-bulletins.html

The University of California BUS-19/Registration and Licensing of University-Owned Vehicles: https://policy.ucop.edu/manuals/business-and-finance-bulletins.html

The University of California Management of Health, Safety and the Environment: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3500506

Part 2. Life Cycle Cost Analysis 

Does the institution employ Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) when evaluating energy- and water-using products and systems?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the institution’s use of LCCA?:
Institution employs LCCA less comprehensively, e.g. for certain types of systems or projects and not others

A brief description of the LCCA policy and/or practices:
Through our Equipment Retrofit Fund, the Green Labs Program partners with the Energy department to implement UCSC's Strategic Energy Plan. The Energy Department is only allowed to spend funds on investments that have a 10-year payback. To ensure that we are choosing the most effective equipment to retrofit, LCCA of energy and water use was calculated and evaluated in consideration of ROI.

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:
Wherever feasible, cleaning products and materials, including hard floor and carpet care products, used on the UC Santa Cruz campus shall meet the requirements of LEED-EB:O&M 2009 EQc3.3: Green Cleaning, Purchase of Sustainable Cleaning Products and Materials.

Specific sustainability criteria is found on pages 11 & 12 of the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines - https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

Consumable office products

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating consumable office products?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for consumable office products:
Required sustainability criteria for consumable office products include:
Office paper - A minimum of 30% pos-consumer recycled content (PCRC) or agricultural residue content (or GS-07 certified)
Paper products - A minimum of 30% PCRC
Non-paper office supplies - Meets the minimum Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) recycled-content levels for Non-Paper Office Products, and a minimum 30% recycled content for all writing utensils (dry-erase markers, highlighters, markers, pens, and pencils) or other plastic-based accessories
Toner - Is re-manufactured or high yield

Additional information can be found in the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines regarding copy paper and paper office supplies on pages 25 & 26 - https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

Furniture and furnishings

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating furniture and furnishings?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings:
Required sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings include:
- Must be free of the five chemical classes of concern described in the specifications section below. Acceptable documentation of compliance includes at least one of the following4:
- Third-party certified as meeting credit 7.4.4, Targeted Chemical Elimination, of ANSI/BIFMA Level® e-3 Furniture Sustainability Standard (2019 version)
- Certified to the GreenScreen standard for Furniture and Fabrics Version 1 or higher at the Bronze level, and listed on the GreenScreen Furniture and Fabric Certification list of certified products
- Received the Green Health Approved Seal for Furniture, and is listed on the Green Health Approved list for Healthier Furniture

Additional information for furniture and furnishings can be found in the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines on pages 21 - 23: https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

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:
Required sustainability criteria for IT and equipment include:
Electronic equipment must meet Energy Star or EPEAT Bronze certification

Additional information for IT and equipment can be found in the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines on pages 9 & 10: https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

Food service providers

Does the institution have published sustainability criteria to be applied when evaluating food service providers?:
Yes

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for food service providers:
Required sustainability criteria for IT and equipment include:
25% of all food and beverage purchases must meet the definition of sustainable or plant based food provided by AASHE STARS 2.2 Technical Manual.

Additional sustainable criteria for food service providers can be found in the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines on page 18: https://www.ucop.edu/procurement-services/for-ucstaff/sustainable-procurement/sustainableprocurementguidelines.pdf

Garments and linens 

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

A brief description of the published sustainability criteria for garments and linens:
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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:
We refer to the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices’ guidelines when evaluating professional services. We also include sustainability criteria in our scoring/evaluating responses to RFP's. The weight of this criteria is 20% of the total score available.

http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/Sustainable%20Practices.pdf

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:
The university will implement transportation programs and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction strategies that reduce the environmental impacts from commuting, fleet and business air travel related to achieving the Climate Protection section of this Policy (see Section III.C.).

1. Each location will reduce GHG emissions from its fleet and report annually on its progress. Locations shall implement strategies to reduce fleet emissions and improve the fuel efficiency of all university-owned or operated fleet vehicles and equipment where practical options exist through acquisition and fleet operation protocols.
a. By 2025, zero-emission vehicles (ZEV)or hybrid vehicles shall account for at
least 50%of all new light-duty vehicle acquisitions. Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory will follow federal fleet requirements in the case where federal and UC fleet requirements conflict.

2. The university recognizes that single-occupant vehicle (SOV) commuting is a primary contributor to commute GHG emissions and localized transportation
impacts.
a. By 2025, each location shall strive to reduce its percentage of employees
and students commuting by SOV by 10% relative to its 2015 SOV
commute rates;
b. By 2050, each location shall strive to have no more than 40% of its employees
and no more than 30% of all employees and students commuting to the
location by SOV.

3. Consistent with the State of California goal of increasing alternative fuel – specifically electric – vehicle usage, the university shall promote purchases and support investment in alternative fuel infrastructure at each location.
a. By 2025, each location shall strive to have at least 4.5% of commuter
vehicles be ZEV.
b. By 2050, each location shall strive to have at least 30% of commuter
vehicles be ZEV.

4. Each location will develop a business-case analysis for any proposed parking structures serving university affiliates or visitors to campus to document how a capital investment in parking aligns with each campus’ Climate Action Plans and/or sustainable transportation policies.

Additional sustainable criteria for transportation and fuels can be found in the Sustainable Practices Policy on pages 11 & 12 and 26 & 27: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/SustainablePractices

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable procurement program or initiatives is available:
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.