1:26 p.m., Nov. 13, 2008----A new set of purchasing guidelines, written with an eye toward reducing waste and benefiting the environment, is one more step the University of Delaware has taken in its efforts to become a sustainable campus.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

The Green Purchasing Guidelines, which govern how the campus community should approach purchasing decisions in order to stay aligned with UD's sustainability goals, also includes Green UDMart, a new purchasing tool that showcases environmentally sound products, such as paper products with a 30-50 percent post-consumer recycled content.

Initiated in part by Drew Knab, a business and project analyst in the Office of the Executive Vice President who, along with Debra Reese, director of procurement services, helped to draft the new purchasing guidelines, the revamped protocol, in conjunction with Green UDMart, works to align consumer choices with UD's sustainability goals.

“UDMart has been enhanced with the visual identifying label of green items to allow students, faculty and staff to make a conscientious choice to be a part of the University's sustainability initiative,” Reese said.

“Green purchasing guidelines have been established and are posted on the procurement Web site, which affirms our commitment to minimize the footprint we make on the environment,” she added. “These guidelines have worked to raise awareness on how the University conducts business.”

Reese added that, among other measures, the procurement team now works creatively with suppliers to reduce packaging materials--using recyclable containers, for instance--and efforts to buy Energy Star-rated electronics and environmentally-friendly, biodegradable cleaning solutions have become office priorities. Other measures include buying recycled copy paper, remanufactured print cartridges, and energy-efficient computers, copiers and printers.

“The University also works through surplus sales to reduce what is taken to landfills,” Reese said. “We now consider the entire life cycle of the product being purchased, from cradle to grave--or manufacturing to disposal at the end of its term.”

The new purchasing guidelines, as well as Green UDMart, can be accessed by going to [ http://www.udel.edu/procurement/].

Article by Becca Hutchinson