Overview
Recognizing the impact that the materials economy has on the health and well-being of both people and the planet, SMCCCD looks to minimize its role as a contributor to waste and pollution. The District aims to use its purchasing power to contribute to circular economics and closed loop systems within the materials economy while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
Since 2019, General Services has collaborated with the Sustainability Team to identify strategies to increase the acquisition of environmentally preferable and socially responsible products, and to increase supplier diversity.
Our Goals
1) Work collaboratively with General Services to establish a Sustainable Procurement Policy
2) Through said policy, increase sustainable purchasing by 20% by 2025.
Integrating Equity into Sustainable Procurement
As a District, we have purchasing power to support businesses that are in alignment with our broader sustainability goals. SMCCCD commits to conducting business with vendors that have fair and safe labor practices throughout their respective supply chains.
Sustainable Procurement efforts are focused not only on the selection of Environmentally Preferable Products and Services, but also those products and services that are Minority-Owned, Women-Owned, and/or small businesses within San Mateo County.
By identifying and addressing barriers to entry for local and marginalized vendors, SMCCD strives to ensure equitable access to business with the District.
By the Numbers
Background Info
What is Sustainable Procurement?
Sustainable procurement prioritizes purchasing products or services that have a reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose .
The purpose of the SMCCCD Sustainable Procurement Policy is to promote purchasing practices that consider the economic, environmental, and social impacts and benefits of products and services by integrating sustainability, greenhouse gas reduction and social equity criteria into procurement processes.
The 'WasteBerg' shows the importance of reducing waste upstream, as 71 times as much waste is created in the extraction, production, and transportation processes of a material before it is even used or disposed. SMCCCD hopes to hold our vendors accountable for resource efficiency in their respective product's supply chains.
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Looks Upstream to Reduce Waste
Environmentally preferable products have a decreased effect on the environment because they are made using less energy and water, using recycled materials, or designed to be compostable, reusable, refillable or biodegradable.
In higher education, supply chain emissions from products and services procured represent 30% - 40% of total GHG emissions. Institutions are indirectly responsible for the life-cycle emissions related to a product's manufacturing, assembly, transportation, usage, and disposal.
Strategies to Increase Sustainable Procurement at SMCCCD
Featured Projects
SMCCCD Sustainable Procurement Policy Draft
The purpose of the Sustainable Procurement Policy is to promote purchasing practices that consider the economic, environmental and social impacts and benefits of products and services to ensure the purchase of goods within the organization aligns with the District’s mission and values. This effort includes a revision to the SMCCCD Purchasing Board Policy 8.15 to include sustainability and social equity language in order to institutionalized this vision, see Appendix A. This policy is key to the District’s goal of becoming Zero Waste by 2025 and has the potential to save money through minimized consumption, increased efficiency and durability of products, and reduction in downstream disposal of products.
Sustainable procurement administrative procedure_6_15_YPedits.pdf