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To:Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee

From:Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Subject:Review and Harmonization of Environmentally Responsible Procurement

Purpose:

To respond to the request of the Environmental Task Force regarding the "quick start idea" to review and harmonize Environmentally Responsible Procurement.

Financial Implications:

There are no financial implications for either the short term or long term.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the City of Toronto adopt the Environmentally Responsible Procurement Policy attached as AppendixA; and

(2)Interim Purchasing By-Law No. 57-1998 be revised to include the new City of Toronto Environmentally Responsible Procurement Policy.

Council Reference/Background History:

In early September 1998, the Environmental Task Force held a series of focussed workshops in the areas of air, land, water, nature/greenspace, toxics/pollution prevention and sustainable energy strategies. Participants included Task Force members, city staff, representatives from environmental groups and agencies, community groups, business, education and labour. The workshops were chaired by City Councillors who are members of the Task Force. The participants of the workshops were asked to identify priority issues and actions for their topic areas. In addition, they were asked to identify quick start ideas that would result in improvements to the environment, achieve cost savings, create local employment and require limited new resources to implement.

The quick start ideas were prioritized by workshop participants and reviewed by smaller groups of workshop participants and Environmental Task Force staff to identify actions which the Task Force could take or recommend. For those priority quick starts which City or Agency staff were being asked to take action, program staff were consulted to determine feasibility, cost implications, etc. Environmentally Responsible Procurement was identified as a "quick start" idea at two of the workshops.

In addition, the Environmental Task Force at its meeting on December 18, 1998 requested in a report to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee that the Commissioner of Finance submit the Environmentally Responsible Purchasing Policy that is being prepared for City Council as soon as possible and submit it to the Environmental Task Force for information en-route to Standing Committee.

A review of Environmentally Responsible Procurement policies of former municipalities was conducted by the Finance Department Purchasing and Materials Management Division and the following are a summary of the findings and recommendations.

Comments:

A review of Environmentally Responsible Procurement activities of the former municipalities has indicated that the former City of Toronto and Metro Toronto had the following Environmentally Responsible Procurement policies:

Former Metro Policy:

In order to contribute to waste reduction and to increase the development and awareness of Environmentally Sound Purchasing, acquisitions of goods and services will ensure that wherever possible specifications are amended to provide for expanded use of durable products, reusable products and products (including those used in services) that contain the maximum level of post-consumer waste and/or recyclable content, without significantly affecting the intended use of the products or service. It is recognized that cost analysis is required in order to ensure that the products are made available at competitive prices.

Former City Policy:

That in order to increase the development and awareness of Environmentally Sound Products all departments, in conjunction with Purchasing and Supply staff review their contracts and tender specifications for goods and services, to ensure that wherever possible and economical, specifications are amended to provide for expanded use of products and services that contain the maximum level of post-consumer recyclable waste and/or recyclable content, without significantly affecting the intended use of the product or service, and that it is recognized that cost analysis is required in order to ensure that the products are made available at competitive prices.

Both policies recognized the need to expand the use of Environmentally Sound Products, that the products/service must be suitable for the intended use to ensure that operational requirements are met and that the products/services must be competitive in cost to ensure that the City/Metro would not pay unnecessary price premiums for these products or restrict competition in its purchasing activities.

The above policies are still being applied to all former City and Metro purchasing activity. The policies however only mention products/services containing maximum levels of post-consumer waste and/or recyclable content in order to minimize waste. They do not mention products/services that result in minimum damage to the environment (i.e. pollutants, non-renewable resources, public health).

Discussions with representatives of the Federal Government Environmental Choice Program (a Federal Government program which identifies products and services having an environmental benefit) has resulted in the Environmentally Responsible Procurement Policy attached as AppendixA. The policy includes the above-mentioned concerns of minimizing damage to the environment.

The policy would ensure that suppliers are aware that the City is looking to expand its use of environmentally preferred products/services, that these products/services are obtained in a competitive manner to ensure best prices possible for the City, that specifications for acquisitions of goods and services are expanded to include such products/services, that the products/services provide the performance required by the City, and would harmonize Environmentally Responsible Procurement practices within the City of Toronto.

Although the new Environmentally Responsible Procurement Policy can be applied to all City Purchasing activity, Guidelines for Environmentally Preferred Products and Services are developed by the Federal Government Environmental Choice Program (ECP). The Purchasing and Materials Management Division will continue to liaise with the ECP to encourage the development of guidelines for all products/services purchased by the City. The guidelines are referenced in specifications for acquisition of goods and services to ensure that those offering environmentally preferred products/services meet the requirements of the guidelines so that the products/services offered are in fact environmentally responsible products.

To ensure that procurement specifications allow for the purchase of environmentally preferred products/services, the Purchasing and Materials Division will continue to work corporately with departments to ensure that specifications for acquisitions of goods and services are expanded to include those products/services.

Conclusions:

In order to ensure that suppliers are made aware of the City's intentions to expand its use of environmentally preferred products/services and to ensure that specifications for acquisitions are expanded to include such products/services, an Environmentally Responsible Procurement Policy has been developed, and included as Appendix A in this report.

The adoption of this policy and its inclusion in Interim Purchasing By-Law No. 57-1998 would not only ensure a harmonization of Environmentally Responsible Procurement activities within the City of Toronto, but would also ensure that the City adopts environmentally responsible procurement practices.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Lou Pagano, Director, Purchasing and Materials Management Division

Finance Department

Telephone: 392-7312

W.A. Liczyk

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Attachment

H:\BEE\Committees\SP&P\Procurement.wpd

Appendix A

CITY OF TORONTO

ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE PROCUREMENT POLICY

"That in order to increase the development and awareness of environmentally preferred products, acquisitions of goods and services will ensure that wherever possible specifications are amended to provide for expanded use of durable products, reusable products, energy efficient products, low pollution products, products (including those used in services) that contain the maximum level of post-consumer waste and/or recyclable content and provide minimal impact to the environment.

An Environmentally Preferred Product (EPP) is one that is less harmful to the environment than the next best alternative. Characteristics of an EPP are as follows:

(1)Reduce waste and make efficient use of resources

An EPP would be a product that is more energy, fuel, or water efficient, or that uses less paper, ink, or other resources. For example, energy-efficient lighting, and photocopiers capable of double-sided photocopying.

(2)Are reusable or contain reusable parts

These are products such as rechargeable batteries, reusable building partitions, and laser printers with refillable toner cartridges.

(3)Are recyclable

A product will be considered to be an EPP if local facilities exist capable of recycling the product at the end of its useful life.

(4)Contain recycled materials

An EPP contains post-consumer recycled content. An example is paper products made from recycled post-consumer fibre.

(5)Produce fewer polluting by-products and/or safety hazards during manufacture, use or disposal

An EPP product would be a non-hazardous product that replaces a hazardous product.

(6)Have a long service-life and/or can be economically and effectively repaired or upgraded.

It is recognized that cost analysis is required in order to ensure that the products are made available at competitive prices, and that the environmental benefits provided by a product or service does not undermine its overall performance."

H:\BEE\Committees\SP&P\Procurement.wpd

April 26, 1999

 

   
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