Lafayette College
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

The Procurement department has been working in the 2022-2023 school year to develop a Sustainable Procurement Policy in cooperation with the Office of Sustainability. That policy is currently still in development as a draft document.
The College follows a decentralized purchasing model, and departments make their own sourcing decisions based on their needs. Large purchases are made with the assistance and guidance of the Procurement Department, with the largest spend areas being in Facilities and IT. Both groups have been working towards "greening" their purchases.
The procurement department also oversees the majority of service agreements utilized by the college, and the service agreements contain language that is supportive of following good sustainability practices, and is supportive of DEI. Requests for Proposals are also lead by the Procurement Dept, and RFP criteria also require responses regarding respondents sustainability and DEIJ practices as part of the criteria for selection. In addition, the College's Sustainability site lists the Campus Energy Policy and other strategies, https://sustainability.lafayette.edu/guides-policies/ which can be used to guide purchasing decisions across a breadth of college procurement areas.

The site documents conservation goals for various categories such as energy, heat, lighting, water, transportation, which ultimately impact the buying decisions and specifications for projects in construction and renovation and other facilities operations.

Lafayette has "informally" been following practices that support sustainable purchasing, for example, facilities operations strives to purchase Energy Star equipment for renovations and retrofits where possible and feasible, but these specific practices are at this time unwritten.

Facilities Operations at Lafayette College does attempt to look at the Total Cost of Ownership as a matter of practice in the assessment of some new equipment or as part of new installation projects, for example in order to decide how to choose water and HVAC systems, or lighting fixture replacements.

Our informal but unwritten but guidelines include purchases of Energy Star appliances.
All new construction is designed to Leed Silver at a minimum. However the college sometimes does not pay to have the building certified but it is designed to Leed Silver nonetheless.
New Hot water boilers and hot water generators are condensing type units.
LED lights are used whenever practical with matching color rendering to the prior lamp.
New toilets and urinals are all minimum flow with Battery-powered automatic flushometers.
The college has many all electric vehicles.
There is a practice of replacing lighting with LED's wherever possible. LED's have been installed in multiple buildings and locations. There has been a complete replacement/retrofit at the Kirby Sports Center. Over 5,200 bulbs and fixtures were replaced or retrofitted in the Kirby Sports Center in 2019.

Other opportunities that show economic promise are continuously being reviewed.

Other best practices include actions such as purchasing Energy Star appliances for laundry equipment and window air conditioners, when purchasing new or replacement motors and other commercial equipment for HVAC with an energy rating of 93% or better.

Facilities operations has been working with the Office of Sustainability to establish written sustainability criteria as part of the work on developing the Sustainable Procurement policy in the 2022-2023 school year. Facilities operations follows broad guidelines and follows informal best practices, such as trying to use green cleaning products where the performance is acceptable vs traditional cleaners. For example, custodial staff uses a 3M Greenseal "Twist N Fill " dispenser system. The cleaners are concentrated and automatically diluted, saving packaging waster and increases transport and storage efficiency. We recently purchased two Nobles ech2o scrubbing machines. These machines use electrically charged water to clean floors, and no chemicals are used whatsoever, which will reduce our overall use of cleaning chemicals.

In landscaping and grounds, native plantings are being used on the campus, with a goal to phase out invasives, to most effectively use resources such as water and minimize environmental disruption. We have a developed a draft Sustainable Landscaping policy. The policy goal is to prioritize ecological vale and ecosystem services, including addressing creating habitats for local animals, attracting pollinators, incorporate and protect native species, and sustain a healthy ecosystem by using best management practices for herbicides, pesticides, and soil amendments/fertilizers.

In pest control, a contract is established that requires an integrated pest management solution be utilized for campus pest control.

Although there is not a formal written policy, we do work with our current preferred supplier to encourage purchases of products with recycled content, such as negotiated highly discounted pricing for recycled content copy paper. We also offer several recycling programs through that relationship, such as a toner recycling program, and recycling for K-Cups. Products on the preferred office supplier website are highlighted if "green products" to attract campus buyers.

Facilities operations has been working with the Office of Sustainability to establish written sustainability criteria as part of the work on developing the Sustainable Procurement policy in the 2022-2023 school year. Currently there is not published sustainability criteria for furniture and furnishings. However please see below for general criteria we consider when specifying:
- We salvage any reusable non-structural elements like furniture, equipment, etc for reuse either within a project, or elsewhere on campus. Existing pieces in good condition but not reusable on campus are often donated to local groups like the Easton Area Community Center or local schools
- When removing items that are not in a condition for re-use, we utilize demolition crews that separate items for diversion from landfill for smaller efforts - an easy example is that metal is separated and recycled. For a larger project (like Kunkel Hall renovation), a waste diversion crew is contracted.
- Interior materials like carpet and fabrics are specified to utilize recycled content. The percentages vary per project and actual material, but we generally look toward the LEED Credit guidelines
- The College utilizes rapidly renewable materials like cork or linoleum where appropriate by use
- The College uses low or zero VOC interior paint formulas
- Some of the certifications that we look for when making specifications, for interior materials: Green Label Plus (carpets), FSC (wood), Greenguard (general interior materials, like laminate/furniture), NSF International (varies by product).

- All of the examples above are generalized to show the types of sustainable standards. Here is a specific "interior material" example. The standard classroom carpet (used in Pardee, Hugel, Oeschsle Hall, and others) has the following properties -
1) It's made of Antron type 6,6 nylon, which is an SPS Environmentally Preferable Material. Environmentally preferable products (EPP) are recognized as having lower environmental impacts than typical products in the same category. The fiber of our classroom standard carpet will have a longer useable life than carpets of less durable fibers, meaning less product will be diverted to landfills.
2) The carpet system contains 10% recycled content
3) The carpet and related materials like adhesives are Green Label Plus certified, for improved indoor air quality
4) The carpet is NSF-140 certified. NSF-140 is a third party certification that assesses the life cycle impact of the carpet system.
5) EPDs or Environmental Product Declarations, are available. EPDs are third party certifications that examine the life cycle of the carpet, similar in nature to the NSF-140 certification.

The Office of Sustainability has been working with IT Services to establish written sustainability criteria as part of the work on developing the Sustainable Procurement policy in the 2022-2023 school year. The College ITS department is responsible for setting specifications and sourcing of IT equipment. The College ITS dept. does specify and purchase EPEAT Gold electronics for employee computers, and public space computers, and computer labs used by students.

We do have language included in our service agreements and RFPs that is encouraging and supportive of sustainable purchasing practices expected of our suppliers.

Facilities operations has been working with the Office of Sustainability to establish written sustainability criteria in this area as part of the work on developing the Sustainable Procurement policy in the 2022-2023 school year. There is some basic language used to support good practices in purchasing of transportation services. Recently we conducted an RFP for Campus Shuttle Services...excerpt below from RFP

Section F. Bus Information

A. Bus Information
The Offeror’s proposal should include, but is not limited to, the number of buses available, the bus styles to be used, bus ages, and bus capacities. The proposal should include information regarding the interior of the buses, type of seating and other options available that will allow for the transportation of riders with disabilities. The College has a preference for buses that operate on Alternate Fuel Sources. Buses used in operations shall be properly maintained with documented service records. All functions provided and required on the shuttles shall be operational while in service for College. All buses are to comply with all state and federal inspection and emissions standards, and all other applicable regulations.

Section III 4. Technical

III.4 The Offeror shall:
A. Provide regular, timely and safe transportation:
To and from all areas cited in Appendix C-Routes
B. Provide a detailed work plan that addresses the following:
1. Criteria for selection, scheduling and training of employees.
2. Describe the types of training being provided to employees, and if it is provided by the Company, at its cost, to the employees.
3. A detailed plan of how company will operate the shuttle service, including any “green” initiatives.

Regarding fuels or vehicles, we have no written policies. Vehicles are purchased after determining the type needed. The College has purchased many small electric "carts" for transportation around the campus, and used when possible to avoid use of typical "fuel" vehicles.