Sustainable Procurement Policy & Guidelines

Policies Impacting University of California Sustainable Procurement

University of California Sustainable Procurement Policy

Explore the University of California Sustainable Practices Policy (PDF).

UC has set the following major targets for its campuses procurement spend (effective August 2018): 

  • Reach 100% compliance with Required Level Green Spend criteria within three (3) fiscal years of the addition of a given product and/or product category to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
  • Reach 25% Green Spend as a total percentage of spend per product category within three (3) fiscal years of that product and/or product category being added to the Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.
  • Reach 25% Economically and Socially Responsible Spend as a total percentage of addressable spend within five (5) fiscal years.

University of California Sustainable Procurement Guidelines

Explore the University of California Sustainable Procurement Guidelines (PDF).

The University of California Sustainable Procurement Guidelines (“Guidelines”) lay out the minimum sustainability requirements for products and services purchased by the University of California and identify those product attributes that are strongly preferred, if not mandatory.

The University of California Sustainable Procurement Guidelines are a companion to the Sustainable Procurement Policy and Procedure Sections of the UC Sustainable Practices Policy (PDF).  

The UC Sustainable Practices Policy outlines the University’s goals for sustainable procurement as well as requirements for UC sustainable procurement practices, referring to the activities of UC buyers as they relate to sustainable procurement. The Guidelines document details what the University considers to be sustainable at the product, product category, service or industry level.

The UC Sustainable Practices Policy prioritizes waste reduction in the following order: reduce, reuse, and then recycle. Accordingly, sustainable procurement should reduce unnecessary purchasing first, then prioritize purchase of surplus or multiple use products before purchasing recyclable or compostable products.

Policy & Guidelines Training:

Explore Training and Resources on the new Sustainable Practices Policy & Sustainable Procurement Guidelines.

Find out how the Policy and Guidelines impact particular commodities/categories of goods or services: 

Visit our Category Information Page.