Sustainable Purchasing Policy 

The goal of the City’s Sustainable Purchasing Policy is to strive to purchase products that minimizes environmental impacts, toxins, pollution, and hazards to workers and the community to the greatest extent practicable, purchase products with recycled content, conserve energy and water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, use unbleached or chlorine-free manufacturing processes, are lead and mercury free, and use wood from sustainable harvested forests.

Section 2.105.360 of the City Code establishes the framework for the City’s Green Purchasing Policy that is further defined in this Chapter.  The Policy states that the City will strive to purchase products that minimize environmental impacts, toxins, pollution, and hazards to workers and the community to the greatest extent practicable, purchase products with recycled content, conserve energy and water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, use unbleached or chlorine-free manufacturing processes, are lead and mercury free, and use wood from sustainably harvested forests. 

During the 2019 City Council Goal and Priority Setting Session, the City Council added a new strategic pillar for Sustainability for a total of seven City Council policy priorities.  One of the initiatives established at that time was to create a Citywide sustainable procurement policy to guide purchasing through all departments of environmentally preferred supplies.

Wherever feasible, Departments are directed to:

Policy Area 1: Waste Reduction, Recycled and Reusable Products, and Product Packaging

1. Favorably consider the selection of recycled-content and renewable materials, products, and supplies over their non-recycled-content and non-renewable alternatives in cases where availability, fitness, health, and operational efficiency, quality, safety, and price of the recycled product is otherwise comparable to, the non-recycled-content and/or non-renewable alternative.

2. Purchase and use recycled products to the maximum extent possible, without negatively impacting health, safety, or operational efficiency.

3. Restructure purchasing specifications to include the use of products which contain post-consumer recycled content, are reusable, or are designed to be easily and locally recyclable.

4. Purchase post-consumer-content recycled paper that contains the highest postconsumer content practicable, but no less than the minimum recycled content standards established by the U.S. EPA Guidelines.

5. Require the labeling of recycled products to indicate their recycled content.

6. Encourage vendors to take back and reuse pallets and other shipping materials.

7. Purchase wood products harvested in a sustainable manner and/or FSC certified when possible.

8. Avoid over ordering food for City related events or meetings whenever possible, and consider donating surplus food to local donation sites.

9. Avoid single use plastic products for City meetings and events whenever possible.

Policy Area 2: Product Circularity and Life Cycle

10. Use life cycle cost analysis to assist in selecting a product or service.

Policy Area 3: Carbon Reduction, Low Carbon Fuels, and Lubricants

11. Combine separate orders into single shipments whenever possible and consider local City distribution points.

12. Avoid the use of air freight whenever possible.

13. Select services that provide delivery through electric, hybrid, or other low-emission delivery vehicles if available and when possible and practical.

14. Purchase lubricating oil and industrial oil as directed by the California Public Contract Code 10409.

Policy Area 4 – Less Toxic Products

16. Consider less toxic alternatives when purchasing products such as pesticides and herbicides. Please refer to the City’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Policy for further information.

17. Purchase less toxic custodial products for City facilities wherever possible.

Policy Area 5 – Energy Efficiency, Green Energy, Green Building

18. Purchase energy-conserving and/or ENERGY STAR certified products when possible.

19. Consider energy-conserving lighting, generators, and general green design/building related elements when retrofits/upgrades to City facilities are needed and where practical.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Resources

1. EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines

2. Save the Food Guest-Imator  

3. CSC Green Fleet Policy 

4. EnergyStar

5. EPEAT    

The City will cooperate with neighboring city governments in an effort to develop a comprehensive, consistent, and effective procurement effort intended to stimulate the market for recycled products, reusable products, and products designed to be recycled.

The City’s purchasing sustainability lead is Mark Giovannetti, Purchasing Manager.