Sustainable Spending
8.0 Module Overview
Procurement - the supply chain of everything we need to buy to successfully run the UC Berkeley campus - has a key role in our sustainability commitments. Our procurement impacts food, waste, water, and carbon. It also holds the key to making big impacts when considering our Berkeley and UC system-wide buying power. Read on to learn more about our procurement practices, how you can make more sustainable purchases as an individual, and funding for green projects on campus.
8.1 Our International Supply Chain
Globalized Production
This video on the left gives a non-animated expansion on the "Story of Stuff" video in the Zero Waste Module. It provides insight into how our supply chain has become globalized. Highly efficient, these globalized supply chains however can be disrupted by disasters that will become more common due to climate change.
Online Shopping
Watch this UC Climate Lab’s video on the environmental cost of online shopping, in partnership with Vox. The video outlines how limiting online shopping to essentials & fewer, consolidated orders can have a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions associated with shipping.
EcoVadis provides business sustainability ratings, intelligence and collaborative performance improvement tools for global supply chains. EcoVadis’ sustainability scorecards provide detailed insight into environmental, social and ethical risks across 200+ purchasing categories and 175+ countries. Any university email address can access their resources.
8.2 UC System Buying Power
California Economy
The University of California has a major impact on the California Economy of over $46 billion dollars, and employing one in every 46 people in the state (2)! Thus the purchasing power of the University has a significant influence, and the University's commitment to sustainability is crucial. The University of California has programs to increase work with small and diverse businesses and strategically sourcing more sustainable products.
UC Divests From Fossil Fuels
In May 2020, The UC system announced that it would be divesting completely from all fossil fuels and instead invest in more sustainable projects such as wind and solar energy. The UC Board of Regents cited that fossil fuel investment is not financially reliable. Given the sheer size of the UC system over its private university peers, this divestment was a huge win for UC climate activists and the fight to move towards Carbon Neutrality. Read this article from the Los Angeles Times on the left.
8.3 UC Sustainable Spend
UC System Green Spending Guidelines
In the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines (3), the UC system outlines what qualifies as Green Spend. The UC system's green spending guidelines rely on the usage of recognized certifications and standards, having both a minimum and preferred requirement for the amount of products certified. Shown on the right, Energy Star is an EPA-designed standard for energy efficiency for electronics that the UC system uses to certify its electronics. We encourage you to look to page 9 of the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines to see what certifications are used for products in your field, as well as their required and preferred standards.
Run by the US EPA, the Energy Star Certification is meant to be an unbiased measure of energy efficiency.
Economically and Socially Responsible Spend
Often shortened in UC documents as EaSR spend, Economically and Socially Responsible spend is similar to green spend in utilizing suppliers with government or nationally recognized certifications for identifying suppliers with a positive impact on society and/or the economy. The EaSR spend operates similar to Green Spending in encouraging and tracking the usage of these certifications in spending to identify the UC's EaSR spend.
The graphic shown above shows that as a whole the UC system is meeting its minimum requirements for Green Spend for Cleaning Supplies, Electronics, and Indoor office furniture in 2019. Office Supplies are currently not meeting the Green Spend Guidelines. While the system as a whole may be meeting most of the goals, UC campuses may not be meeting the broader goals individually.
Sustainable Spending
UC recognized Sustainable Spend is the intersection of both the requirements for Green and EaSR spend. To increase the sustainable spending in your work, incorporate recognized sustainability identified products into a market basket list in BearBuy. For further reading or reference, consult the UC Sustainable Procurement Guidelines. This document expands upon the framework detailed in the more general UC Policy on Sustainable Practices (5).
To support the expansion of sustainability in UC's products and services competitive bidding processes are required to allocate a minimum of 15% of the selection points to environmental, social, and economic sustainability criteria.
8.4 Berkeley Spotlight:
UC Berkeley Supply Chain Management
UC Berkeley's Department of Supply Chain Management is responsible for the acquisition of campus goods and services. They operate the school's "Procedure to Pay" system known as BearBuy for staff Faculty and Graduate students. To learn more about Berkeley's Supply Chain Management, visit their comprehensive website here with resources to answer questions about BearBuy and more.
Learn About UC Berkeley's Sustainable Procurement Goals
The Office of Sustainability outlines procurement guidelines. Click on the link on the right to learn more about Berkeley's procurements goals and metrics.
Supply Chain Management and Cal Zero Waste host environmentally preferred product roadshows to promote environmentally friendly alternatives for office and lab supplies.
The UC Berkeley Supplier Diversity Program promotes business relationships and contract opportunities with small, diverse, and disadvantaged businesses wishing to provide goods and services to the University community.
UC Berkeley Sustainable Procurement Policies
All recyclers of of the UC system's electronic equipment must be e-Steward certified by the Basal Action Network (BAN)
UC System requires all packaging meet a sustainability criteria to maximize use of bulk, reusable, and recyclable packaging. As of 2020, packing foam is now disallowed.
Minimizing harmful chemicals coming to campus through prioritizing buying from companies who disclose known hazards and choosing products with reduced chemical contaminants (UC Sustainable Practices Policy)
Commodity/Contract Managers will ensure all contract items meet the UC criteria for Economically and Socially Responsible (EaSR) Spend.
UC Berkeley's Business Partnerships
The University has multiple official partnerships with the university, including the Bank of the West, Peet's Coffee, and Under Armor.
Peet's Coffee has a 10-year contract with the University, specifically in partnership with CalDining and Cal Athletics. The partnership opens up specific financial positions for Cal students and helps fund need-based scholarships.
Through a partnership in which the Bank of the West becomes the University's official bank, the University is able to further support merit-based scholarships and the Athletics Department. The Bank of the West also offers some programs that align with UC Berkeley's mission including its 1% for the Planet Checking Account program. Although the Bank of the West is a regional bank, headquartered in San Francisco, it is a subsidiary of the World's 8 largest bank BNP Paribas (8). The partnership benefits UC Berkeley students as they can apply for a student checking account with no monthly service charges. Faculty and staff have access to banking products offered at discounted rates, such as loans, and personalized services. For further reading about the partnership, visit the University Business Partnership Website (9).
