Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.93
Liaison Ezra Small
Submission Date Jan. 31, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

University of Massachusetts Amherst
OP-T2-25: Local Businesses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.25 / 0.25 Ezra Small
Sustainability Manager
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution give preference to local products and businesses in its purchasing decisions? Local food purchases, which are covered in OP Credit 6: Food Purchasing, are not included in this credit.:
Yes

A brief description of the program:

UMass Amherst is a founding member of the Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium (MHEC), the premier source for regionalized New England group purchasing in the United States. MHEC strives to be the consortium of choice for its members by providing multi-vendor contracts that are the best in the industry in terms of cost avoidance, product and service depth, vendor quality, choice and terms; and by being an active catalyst for local and regional small business participation, including women and minority-owned companies. MHEC supports the success of our members and vendors by engaging their input and providing consulting support, customized reporting, special events, education programs and communications forums that encourage a vibrant, interactive, regional marketplace and learning community.

MHEC membership is available to all not for profit public and private institutions of higher education, municipalities including elementary, secondary schools, technical, vocational and charter school as well as other educational organizations throughout Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut.


The website URL where information about the program, policy, or practice is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.