Sustainable Products for Less

Sustainable Products

Partnering with Staples allowed The University of Colorado to increase sustainability initiatives and create healthy and productive learning environments.

The University of Colorado maintains a strong reputation as an environmental leader. As part of its sustainability initiatives, the university wanted to take advantage of environmentally friendly facilities solutions — supporting the university’s broad cleaning needs, eliminating the reliance on harsh chemicals and streamlining its facilities procurement processes.

“We knew we could be smarter about how we manage our facilities operations — and be more green,” says Sandy Hicks, assistant vice president and chief procurement officer with the University of Colorado.

“The key was to find the right partner with the right competencies to help us build an enterprise-wide program with standardized products and processes.” The university issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) with a cross-campus committee evaluating submissions from nine vendors based on several criteria.

Staples Advantage received the highest score among the group, moving the company into the final evaluation phase along with three other vendors. The University of Colorado then conducted a blind cleaning test on the Boulder campus, using glass, multipurpose, floor and disinfectant solutions from each of the vendors. Again, Staples was the front-runner in the group.

Based on Staples’ impressive showing, the University of Colorado awarded Staples Advantage a three-year contract for its facilities supplies.

Staples integrated with the university’s existing e-procurement platform — M@rketplace — allowing users to easily search for and buy pre-approved facilities products. The Staples team worked closely with the university’s Boulder distribution center to create ordering best practices, determining each campus’ cleaning needs and recommended inventory.

As a result of partnering with Staples, the University of Colorado has extended its sustainability initiatives, rolling out environmentally friendly cleaning practices across all of its locations. The university is actively promoting a healthy and productive learning environment, while reducing its environmental impact.

www.staplesadvantage.com/njpa

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Creating a First and Lasting Impression with Thoughtful, Sustainable Design

    Clemson University’s Nieri Family Alumni and Visitors Center serves as the new front door to campus, anchoring the Tiger experience through each step in the student journey.

  • New Jersey PreK–12 School Breaks Ground on New STEM Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently announced that it has broken ground on the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the design of the new facility, which will provide the school with space to expand its STEM and business education classes.

  • K12 Tutoring Earns Every Student Succeeds Act Level II Validation

    Personalized online tutoring service K12 Tutoring recently announced that it has received Level II validation underneath the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), according to a news release. The independently validated study provides evidence of K12 Tutoring’s role in creating positive student outcomes through effective academic intervention and research-based solutions.

  • Pangram Secures Funding for AI Detection Technology

    Pangram, which provides technology that detects AI-generated text, recently announced that it has secured nearly $4 million in pre-seed and seed funding, according to a news release. The most recent round of investments, totaling $2.7 million, come on top of the pre-existing seed fund of $1.25 million.

Digital Edition