Purchasing
Smith is adopting a series of environmental purchasing policies which will ultimately cover many goods acquired by the college. Guiding policies include:
- A paper policy that requires use of at least 30 percent post-consumer recycled copier and printer paper with the balance sourced from FSC or equivalent sources certified as sustainably managed.
- The bottled water policy removes single-serving bottles from all student dining services, catering operations and most events.
Specific departments have adopted "green" practices associated with procurement:
- All campus-standard Dell and Apple computers purchased by ITS and sold by the Smith College Computer Store meet the ePEAT Gold standard, the RoHS standard, and the Energy Star 4 standard. Information Technology Services has its own Web site that includes purchasing policies as well as other ways that ITS can help the campus community reduce resource use.
- All toilet paper meets EPA Commercial/Industrial Sanitary Tissue procurement guidelines (100 percent recycled, post-consumer content between 20 to 60 percent). All roll paper towels are Green Seal certified (100 percent recycled, post consumer content of at least 40 percent).
- For information regarding Furniture purchasing, please visit the purchasing office website.
- All appliances and electronics procured through the college Purchasing Department are Energy Star-qualified.
The purchasing office at Smith College works with the Office of Environmental Sustainability to provide sustainable materials for the campus. To find out how to get affordable supplies for your office and look at vendor contracts, visit the purchasing office website.
