UC Procurement & Sustainability win Outstanding Case Study Award

The University of California’s ultra-low freezer promotional campaign, which was featured in the April 2016 issue of the P200 Newsletter and in the May 23, 2016 posting on UC Link, recently won an Outstanding Case Study Award from the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support sustainable procurement by sharing research, best practices and resources. For more than a decade, the University of California has encouraged energy-efficient lab equipment manufacturing, purchasing and use through collaboration between campus sustainability officers and the Office of the President.

Years of testing and urging for energy-efficient freezers paid off in this three-way partnership among strategic sourcing procurement officers, sustainability staff, and the supplier. Enthusiasm, teamwork, marketing collaboration, and competitive pricing all drove this freezer project’s success, making a significant contribution to UC’s initiative for a greener workplace, and UC’s carbon neutrality initiative by 2025.

During the initial, 3-month, ultra-low freezer supplier price promotion in 2016, the University of California purchased 71 new ULT’s across 10 campuses, garnering an estimated $689,000 in hard and soft savings.

This is a great example of how multiple UC departments and suppliers can collaborate to create long-lasting benefits. Led by Life Sciences Commodity Managers Valerie Vergara and Ross Bausone of UCOP and Sustainability Manager Allen Doyle of UC Davis, over 40 people from all UC locations in multiple functions including procurement, sustainability and communications were involved to make this happen. Congratulations to all!

Stephanie Lopez, Special Programs Manager- Small/Diverse Business, Sustainability & Bank Card (second from left) and Hilary Bekmann, Associate Director, Sustainability, UCOP (middle), accepting the award on behalf of the team