What the City is Doing

2006 Environmentally Preferable Procurement Annual Report (PDF, 203 KB)

Products

The City of San José procures hundreds of different products with recycled content on an annual basis. When appropriate for quotations, bids or proposals, environmental criteria are included in the specifications. Some of these eco-friendly products include:

• Paper
• Janitorial supplies
• Re-refined oil
• Retread tires
• Recycled toner cartridges

The Finance Department is developing a product replacement protocol for its existing product inventory. Resources such as the EPA environmental product database as well as suppliers with “green” alternatives are facilitating warehouse staff with this effort.

Green Fleet

The Green Fleet Policy (PDF, 424 KB), developed in close partnership with General Services Fleet Administration and ESD's Office of Sustainability, represents the confluence of several City Sustainability initiatives:

• The City's signatory status to the Urban Environmental Accords, which, in addition to prior commitments to greenhouse gas reduction initiatives, have a stated numeric goal of a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030;
• The March 2007 revision and strengthening of the Environmentally Preferable Procurement Policy (PDF, 32 KB), where the City first committed to maximizing vehicle emissions reductions through the purchasing process; and,
• The Environmental Management System/ISO 14001 process, which identified the development of a City vehicle policy as one method of mitigating the environmental impacts associated with City vehicle use.

Through implementation of this policy, the City is seeking to decrease total vehicle emissions by 25% by fiscal year 2012-13 (using 2002-03 as a baseline year). The City is going to make every effort to purchase and use the lowest emission vehicle or equipment item possible, while taking into account the vehicle’s life-cycle costs and the ability to support City operations and services.

In recognizing that fleet assets account for a significant contribution to the City’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, and that these emissions can be reduced, along with vehicle fuel and maintenance costs, through the purchase of alternatively-fueled vehicles, the Transportation and Environment Committee recently accepted the recommendation of Environmental Services and General Services for the incorporation of the Green Fleet Policy into the City's administrative policy manual.

The Responsible Purchasing Network (RPN), a national network of procurement-related professionals dedicated to socially responsible and environmentally sustainable purchasing, congratulated the City on their aggressive reduction goals. RPN was a key resource in the City's development process.

Services

Whenever practicable, brochures and other City collateral are printed on recycled paper made with 30% post consumer waste.

Travel

City employees are directed to minimize the environmental impacts of necessary travel by using common carriers or efficient vehicles and by staying in “green hotels” when possible. For travel within California, the State provides a list of green hotels. Out-of-state hotels are listed at www.greenseal.org/findaproduct/index.cfm#lodging and www.greenhotels.com/members.htm. Employees traveling by automobile have been directed to follow the State’s driving and maintenance tips that conserve gasoline.

Training

City employees can learn more about the City’s EPP policy by attending the Purchasing Fundamentals classes offered by the Employee Services Department.

Internal Communications

The City distributes paycheck flyers and CityLine, the employee newsletter, electronically to reduce paper consumption.

Updated 11-1-07

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