The environmental and economic benefits of sustainable purchasing may not always be solely located within resource consumption. For example, an LED light bulb lasts 50 times longer than an incandescent light bulb and 8-10 times longer than a compact fluorescent light bulb.225 That means that installing LED bulbs in place of incandescent bulbs will save maintenance crews the hours, costs and risks associated with manually replacing that same incandescent light bulb 50 times. Those maintenance costs add up fast and make an easy business case for lighting retrofits.
Alameda County’s Indoor Lighting Retrofit Yields Cost Savings and Environmental Benefits In 2009, Alameda County, California undertook a comprehensive indoor lighting retrofit that saved 6,000 maintenance hours through longer-lasting lamps, along with 3 million kwh and more than $350,000 in annual energy costs. 226 The retrofit also eliminated 350,000 mg of mercury by specifying low-mercury lamps in the contract. By tracking and reporting on the benefits of purchasing sustainable building supplies, Alameda County has been able to tout their success nationally, achieving not only numerous LEED certifications but a 2016 Outstanding Case Study Award for their Green Building Program from the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC).227 This award will add momentum to Alameda County’s green building efforts, creating a virtuous cycle where reporting the results of green building initiatives makes it easier to advocate for sustainable specs as new contracts come up for bid. By making sure to track and report their successes, Alameda County lays strong groundwork for a culture of sustainable purchasing across their government facilities, enabling the jurisdiction to achieve continuous improvements in the social, environmental and economic benefits of the building supplies they purchase.
225 Bulbs.com “LED FAQ”, 2016 http://www.bulbs.com/learning/ledfaq.aspx 226 Alameda County “Lighting Retrofit” 2016 https://www.acgov.org/sustain/what/energy/lighting.htm 227 Karen Cook “Alameda County’s Green Building Program” 2016 https://www.acgov.org/sustain/documents/casestudy_2016splc-greenbuilding.pdf 536 of 541
City of San José, California
COUNCIL POLICY
TITLE ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE
PROCUREMENT POLICY (EP3)
PAGE
1 of 5
POLICY NUMBER
4-6
EFFECTIVE DATE September 25, 2001 REVISED DATE April 24, 2012 APPROVED BY COUNCIL ACTION Revised 3/20/2007, Item 7.3 (b), Res. No. 73700; 11/17/2009, Item 7.2 (b), Res No. 75177; 4/24/12, Item 2.13 (b), Res No. 76203
PURPOSE
It is the goal of the City of San José (City) to utilize its purchasing power to influence commerce to offer goods and services with better environmental performance, and to procure products and services from manufacturers and suppliers that demonstrate a high level of environmental and social responsibility.
By incorporating environmental considerations into public purchasing, the City intends to reduce impacts to human health and the environment, reduce its carbon footprint, remove unnecessary hazards from its operations, reduce costs and liabilities, fulfill its commitments under the City’s Green Vision and Urban Environmental Accords, meet LEED requirements for USGBC certification, and improve the environmental quality of the region.
This Policy will guide the City’s efforts to procure environmentally sustainable products and services. While not all of these guidelines will be feasible in every procurement of goods and services, the City will make a good faith effort to incorporate these guidelines to the maximum extent possible in its procurement decisions. This Policy could be considered for purchasing and contracting in support of the operation and management of all City-owned buildings and facilities as well as their components, systems, operations and materials; and for all City programs, events, contractors, and grantees.
BACKGROUND
The City adopted Council Policy 4-4 on Source Reduction and Recycling Procurement in 1990 to establish markets for recyclable materials. Policy 4-4 was designed to favor products with recycled content and ensure that such products were not excluded from consideration in solicitations.
In 2001, the City expanded environmental considerations in procurement beyond recycling and the reduction of solid waste and toxics to include energy conservation, water conservation, and life cycle analysis with the adoption of Council Policy 4-6, the Environmentally Preferable Procurement Policy (EP3
). Policy 4-6 was revised in 2007 and 2009.
Policies 4-4 and 4-6 enabled the City to seek grants from the California Integrated Waste Management Board, which requires a formal recycled content procurement policy and a report on its implementation for grant eligibility.
ATTACHMENT C
537 of 541
TITLE ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE
PROCUREMENT POLICY (EP3)
PAGE
2 of 5
POLICY NUMBER
4-6
In 2005, the City became a signatory to the Urban Environmental Accords which encouraged its members to conduct environmental procurement.
To address sustainability in a more comprehensive way, the City adopted its Green Vision in 2007. The ten Green Vision goals are designed to move the City towards greater environmental sustainability. Policy 4-6 advances several of the Green Vision goals including zero waste, energy efficiency and renewable energy, green building, green fleet, and smart streets.
In recent years, the State of California has enacted several bills that relate to Policy 4-6 including AB 1879, the Green Chemistry Act, SB 509 addressing hazardous materials and toxic substances, and AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act.
City policies and plans that support the goals of environmental preferable procurement include the Sustainable City Major Strategy of the General Plan, the Pollution Prevention Policy, the Green Building Policy, the Zero Waste Strategic Plan (adopted October 2008), the Strategic Energy Plan (adopted September 2009), and the proposed Climate Action Plan.
POLICY
It is the policy of the City of San José to reduce the environmental impact of its purchases by addressing:
1. Product Content
a. Purchase products which contain the highest percentage of post-consumer recovered material and the highest percentage of total recovered material available in the marketplace (e.g.; minimum 30% post-consumer content for paper). b. Ensure that specifications and performance standards for goods and services do not require the use of products made from virgin materials nor specifically exclude the use of environmentally preferable products.
c. Replace disposables with re-usable, recyclable, or compostable goods. d. Avoid hazardous materials that have the potential to be persistent, bioaccumulative and/or toxic (PBT). Consider impacts and threats of harm to human health and/or the environment.
e. Require manufacturers and their suppliers to disclose to the City the material content of their products.
2. Extended Producer Responsibility
a. Include product specifications that address:
i. Durability and minimization of waste in the product design, materials content, manufacturing processes, packaging, distribution, and end-of-life management.
Areas of consideration include the use of virgin material, water, energy, hazardous substances, product longevity, recycled content, recyclability, and product takeback.
ii. Free or low-cost product takeback services (e.g.; collection, recycling, remanufacturing, and proper disposal of their products). 538 of 541
TITLE ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE
PROCUREMENT POLICY (EP3)
PAGE
3 of 5
POLICY NUMBER
4-6
iii. Documentation that products previously purchased or leased are in fact reused, recycled, or otherwise safely managed at the end of their useful lives. b. Purchase products that minimize greenhouse gas emissions over the entire product lifecycle.
c. Participate in industry-financed recycling programs such as the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) and the Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC).
3. Environmental Product Standards
Procure environmentally preferable goods and services that meet environmental product standards established by governmental or other widely recognized authorities. Examples include the Green Seal 37 standard for janitorial products, EPEAT for IT equipment, and GreenGuard for furniture. The standards should be:
a. Developed and awarded by an impartial third-party;
b. Developed in a public, transparent, and broad stakeholder process; and c. Represent specific and meaningful criteria for that product or service category.
4. Other Environmental Factors
Integrate environmental factors into the City’s purchasing decisions if external authorities have not established standards. Examples include, but are not limited to:
a. Purchase fleet vehicles that provide the best available fuel efficiency and net reduction in vehicle fleet emissions;
b. Evaluate, as appropriate, the environmental performance of vendors in providing products and services;
c. Ensure that at least 30% of direct purchases of food served in City facilities is locally grown and organic; and
d. Procure goods, products and services that support City LEED certification.
5. Performance Measurement
Quantify the environmental and economic benefits of the procurement of environmental alternatives such as recycled content paper, biodiesel, and IT equipment by utilizing available product environmental benefits calculators. Environmental benefits calculators have been developed to quantify the benefits associated with the procurement and use of various products such as paper, biodiesel, and janitorial supplies.
DEFINITIONS
The following terms shall have the assigned definitions for all purposes under this Policy:
Environmentally Sustainable Products and Services means products and services that have a lesser or reduced negative effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products that serve the same purpose. In comparing products and services, the City 539 of 541
TITLE ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE
PROCUREMENT POLICY (EP3)
PAGE
4 of 5
POLICY NUMBER
4-6
should consider raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, operation, maintenance, reuse, disposal of products, end of life management, or service delivery.
Specifically, factors that should be considered when determining that a product or service has environmentally preferable attributes include, but are not limited to:
Minimization of virgin material used in product or service life cycle; Maximization of recycled materials used in product or service life cycle; Life cycle analysis of products and services;
Reuse of existing products or materials in product or service life cycle; Recyclability, biodegradability, and compostability of product; Minimization of packaging;
Minimization of greenhouse gas emissions;
Water, energy, and fuel efficiency;
Toxicity reduction or elimination;
Durability and maintenance requirements; and
Ultimate disposal of the product.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) means the Green Building Rating System developed and administered by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and adopted by the City in the Green Building Policy.
Life Cycle Analysis means the comprehensive accounting of the total cost of ownership, including initial costs, energy and operational costs, longevity and efficacy of service, and disposal costs.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) means an environmental policy that transfers the costs and/or physical responsibility of waste management away from local government authorities to producers by encouraging the producer to extend their responsibility for the environmental impact (physical and/or financial) of a product to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle, to the extent that the impacts cannot be eliminated by design.
Persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic (PBT) means chemicals that are toxic, persist in the environment, bio-accumulate in food chains, and pose risks to human health and ecosystems.
PBTs transfer easily between air, water, and land, remain in the environment for long periods of time, are not readily destroyed, and build up or accumulate in body tissue.
IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES
The City Manager shall ensure the development and maintenance of implementation guidelines that provide sufficient direction and clarity to carry out this Policy in an efficient and accountable manner. Specifically, the City Manager shall:
1. Prepare and deliver to the City Council an annual report on implementation of this Policy. The report shall include documentation of the types, quantities, and dollar amounts of environmentally preferable products and, their economic and environmental benefits (including the percentage of post-consumer and total recovered material content). This report should also discuss the environmental benefits of applying this Policy to certain services such as janitorial, landscape, and painting services. 540 of 541
TITLE ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE
PROCUREMENT POLICY (EP3)
PAGE
5 of 5
POLICY NUMBER
4-6
2. Establish guidelines governing the development, review, and approval of specifications for procurement of products and services that address recycled content, recyclability, energy and water conservation, life cycle cost, extended producer responsibility, toxins reduction, rapidly renewable materials, forest protection, preference for local products, and other environmental considerations, and support Green Building certification efforts.
3. Include environmentally sustainable products and services in specifications for City solicitations.
4. Incorporate product (including packaging) stewardship measures such as take back and end of life management into contract requirements.
5. During an evaluative procurement process, require vendors to report environmental and economic benefits of green product alternatives.
6. Ensure that all new City buildings and renovations utilize materials and building systems that will facilitate LEED certification and ensure that this policy is implemented in a manger consistent with the City’s Green Building Policy 8-13.
7. Review this Policy at least every five years, and present any recommendations to the City Council.
8. The City will not purchase polystyrene foam cups, bowls and plates, or any other singleuse food service wares that cannot be recycled or composted in the City’s programs, unless there are no practicable alternatives. The City Manager shall take actions to implement this Policy in all vendor contracts, grant agreements, and concession agreements; at all City-sponsored events and in permits and leases involving the use of City property, where practicable and appropriate.
541 of 541