Sustainable Administration Hub: Procurement
Procurement is a critical part of sustainability. Our purchasing decisions determine which businesses are financially supported by Ohio University budget resources and reflect the values of the University. Ideally, those purchasing decisions will simultaneously benefit our people, our planet, and the prosperity of our region. Our sustainable purchasing guidelines and our student-created triple bottom line cost-benefit analysis tool are resources that can be used by Ohio University students and staff to evaluate their own purchases.
The Sustainability Project Laboratory is a database of sustainability-related project proposals. This resource hosts projects and project ideas that can be adopted by faculty, staff, and students for course projects, capstone or senior projects, theses, and more.
To find procurement related projects just type "procurement" into the search bar at the top of the database or click the Sustainability Project Laboratory icon to the right.
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is currently revising its Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), which Ohio University uses to measure its sustainability efforts. You may view a draft of the proposed updates to Procurement guidelines here.
Current Data
This bar graph shows four different fields. For the recycled paper, green cleaning products, and EPEAT Gold electronics, all were calculated as the percent fiscal amount spent on the sustainable products. The percentage of alternatively-fueled vehicles was calculated from the number of vehicles in the campus fleet that were not purely diesel/gasoline-fueled.
The amount of recycled paper is the total amount of paper purchased containing recycled content.
Green cleaning products are determined as "Expenditures on cleaning products that are Green Seal or UL ECOLOGO certified and/or Safer Choice labeled" according to STARS.
EPEAT is a third party rating system used to determine the environmental-friendliness of imaging products. On the Canon website, it says that, "EPEAT® considers – among other things – absence of toxic substances, use of recycled and recyclable materials, design for recycling, product longevity, energy efficiency, corporate performance and packaging." EPEAT Gold is the ranking with the highest amount of criteria.
Where we are now (2017): Progress toward 2011 Sustainability Plan
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Benchmark 20: Increase the percentage of paper products on campus that include post-consumer recycled content. Target not met.
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Benchmark 24: Encourage use of sustainable and/or recyclable materials and containers in place of polystyrene by developing environmentally preferable purchasing guidelines. Preferable Purchasing Guidelines Created.
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Benchmark 28: Increase purchase of non-food local goods and services and environmentally preferable goods. Alternative baseline determined.
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Benchmark 29: Increase purchase of environmentally preferable computer products. Target exceeded.
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Benchmark 31: Develop sustainability guidelines for concessionaires and franchisees. Target in progress.
Purchasing Graphics
Moving Forward: 2017 Sustainability & Climate Action Plan Goal
Goal: Increase purchasing of sustainable and/or recycled products across a range of categories:
- Increase the use of recycled paper from 7% to 50%
- Increase the use of EPEAT Gold Electronics (as defined in EPEAT Registry) from 94% to 95%
- Increase the use of Green Cleaning Products (as defined in the AASHE STARS Technical Manual for OP 13) from 51% to 65%
- Increase the use of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (as defined in the AASHE STARS Technical Manual for OP15)from 1.4% to 3%
- Increase the use of battery-powered lawn care products from 0% to 50%
- Increase the number of Concessionaires / Franchisees with Sustainable Purchasing (to be defined in 2020 OHIO Sustainable Purchasing guidelines) in contract to 100%
- Increase the total sustainable purchases (to be defined in 2020 OHIO Sustainable Purchasing guidelines) to 30%
Potential Strategies
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Review and revise existing sustainability purchasing guidelines to direct progress toward sub-goals.
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Educate University purchasers on benefits of, and encourage use of, sustainability purchasing guidelines, both for bid and non-bid purchases.
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Create model RFP criteria and protocol for bid purchases and evaluation tools for non-bid purchases, and include carbon emissions as criteria
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Incorporate sustainability practices into contracts for concessionaires and franchisees
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Develop strategies to monitor non-centralized purchasing, especially post-consumer content in paper purchasing
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Mark vendors or products meeting certain sustainable criteria in BobcatBuy to incentivize increased sustainable procurement
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Create bi-monthly sustainable purchasing group meeting to monitor progress
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Develop an assessment tool for social return on investment, especially for local purchases
Benefits of the Goal
- Improved reputation
- Reduced emissions
- Increased community engagement
- Increased economic activity
- Improved human health
- Reduced operational costs
Costs of the Goal
- Staff time
- Capital cost
Hub Supported Initiatives
| Initiative (Lead department/Unit) | SCAP Alignment |
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Annual Procurement Fair (Procurement) A green event that encourages availability of sustainable products from University suppliers. Sustainability staff visit fair to interview suppliers on product sustainability. |
Increase purchasing of sustainable and/or recycled products across a range of categories. |
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Participation in Pouring Rights RFP process (Procurement) Public bid process to choose new beverage supplier for Ohio University Culinary Services and Athletics. Director of Sustainability on RFP committee. |
Increase purchasing of sustainable and/or recycled products across a range of categories. (100% of concessionaires have sustainable purchasing in contract by 2026) |
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Culinary Services Local Food Procurement (Culinary Services)  Culinary Services is a key player in the Sugar Bush grant-funded Farm to Ohio Working Group focusing on local food systems and local food procurement. Office of Sustainability staff support this working group. |
Increase purchasing of sustainable and/or recycled products across a range of categories (also see the Food theme of the Sustainability & Climate Action Plan) |
Hub Related Initiatives
- EPEAT Gold computer purchases
- The University's Bobcat Depot purchases only EPEAT certified computers and laptops.
- RFP Sustainability language
- The University's RFP template contains requirements to provide sustainability information in all bid proposals.
Sustainable Purchasing Best Practices
Best Practice Table
| Sustainability Attribute | Sustainability Goal | Sustainable Purchasing Best Practices |
| Recycled content | Reduce carbon emissions, deforestation, use of finite resources | Favor higher post-consumer recycled content; Avoid "virgin" (non-recycled) paper or wood content |
| Local products | Reduce supply chain emissions; support local communities | Prioritize products made within the state of Ohio or within 250 miles of the campus |
| Conflict Free Minerals | Eliminate socially harmful extraction processes for minerals used in most electronic devices | Evaluation of vendor’s conflict mineral policy |
| Biodegradable/Compostable | Reduce landfill waste | Prioritize BPI-certified paper products |
| Fair Trade | Promote sustainable and equitable trade relationships between producers and consumers | Prioritize Fair Trade labeled products |
| Chemical Free | Minimize use of chemicals that diminish indoor air quality | Avoid purchasing products that require use in a well-ventilated area (e.g. cleaning products, hygiene products, carpeting, plastics, fabrics) |
| Sustainably Harvested | Reduce deforestation, desertification | Wood products (e.g. furniture) should be certified as sustainably harvested (FSC Certified) or rapidly regenerating (such as bamboo). |
| Energy Efficient | Reduce energy consumption, utility cost | Seek Energy Star rated appliances, alternative fuel or LEED rated vehicles |
| Carbon Offsets | Reduce institutional carbon footprint | Purchase offset credits to compensate for emissions produced |
Product Standard
| Product | Standard |
| Computers | EPEAT Gold rated |
| Paper | 30% post-consumer recycled content (minimum) |
| Styrofoam | Prohibited from purchasing (see Styrofoam Fact Sheet) |
| Vehicles | LEFE rated |
Disposal Guidelines
- When a good is no longer desired, the owner must contact Moving and Surplus to have the product entered into the University's surplus inventory.
- Moving and Surplus may deem the product inappropriate for surplus inventory. In such a situation, the user will make a good faith effort to repurpose or recycle the product. Recycling pick-up can be requested by emailing the Office of Refuse and Recycling at recycle@ohio.edu.
- All electronic products should be disposed of at campus-designated locations for electronic waste
Ohio University Experts
| Name | Contact | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Karney | karney@ohio.edu |
Associate Professor of Economics |
| Joy Kostansek | jk985814@ohio.edu | Program Coordinator, Cincinnati University |
| Ryan Fogt | fogtr@ohio.edu |
Sustainable Administration Hub Coordinator |
| Elaine Goetz | goetze@ohio.edu | Director of Energy Management & Sustainability |