Diving Deeper and Communicating Clearly

By: Ryan Hallman, Stephanie Hauschildt, Gabriel Hernandez, Corbin Kehrberg, Ayahna Mack, & Monica Portillo.

Currently, the Sustainable Purchasing team is diving deeper into the operations of UCLA’s licensees–the vendors of promotional products. Through an additional survey, with more specific questions regarding the licensees’ environmental impact and mitigation strategies, the team will be better capable of accurately assessing the sustainability of UCLA’s licensees. Unlike our initial survey, which used Likert scales to gauge general company attitudes towards and efforts in sustainability, the current survey asks direct questions about actions. For example, “Are there any materials the company has intentionally decided not to source because of its environmental impact?” and “Do your facilities have water saving infrastructure?” are asked. Using a system of evaluation, that the team is currently developing, we will rank licensees relative to each other based off the answers to the survey. The more sustainable licensees will gain the team’s approval and recommendation as a preferred vendor.

Another exciting event happening for the Sustainable Purchasing team is a luncheon we will be hosting for the various purchasing offices, i.e. Departments, at UCLA. On May 23rd, the team will present the findings of a survey sent out to Departments regarding their interactions with promotional products and sustainability. Furthermore, the team will also provide Departments with valuable information and resources on how to purchase and act more sustainably. Given that most Departments expressed interests in sustainability and desired guidelines on how to improve their operations, this luncheon will prove valuable for all in attendance. Also, the luncheon gives the team an opportunity to connect and engage with Department heads to a greater extent. Thus, we can learn more about the concerns and desires of Departments and they can learn more about our team’s efforts to improve UCLA’s environmental footprint. 

Above: Sustainable Purchasing Team’s luncheon for the engagement with UCLA Departments.