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It is the policy of the City of Los Angeles to:
(a) Specify and purchase environmentally preferable products and services where criteria have been established by governmental or other widely recognized and respected third-party authorities (e.g., Energy Star, Green Seal, EPA Recycled Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) Purchasing Guidelines, Federal Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT) program guidelines for electronics, State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign (SABRC)).
The following environmental attributes should be considered in making a determination of whether a product is environmentally preferable:
1. Whether the product minimizes the usage of virgin materials for its production;
2. The percentage of recycled-content materials it contains;
3. Is the product re-usable;
4. Ease of recycling the product;
5. The amount of packaging material for the product;
6. Whether the product is bio-based (e.g. corn or soy-based) as opposed to petrochemical or synthetically based;
7. Whether the product is biodegradable;
8. Whether the product is made of carcinogen-free materials;
9. Whether the product is Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free;
10. Whether the product is compostable;
11. Whether the product is durable, rather than single-use or disposable;
12. Whether the product is energy efficient;
13. Whether the product is less hazardous than similar products;
14. Whether the product contains low amounts of volatile organic compounds (low VOC content);
15. Whether the product has low toxicity levels;
16. Whether the product is mercury-free or free from other heavy metals;
17. Whether the product is free of persistent bio-accumulative toxics (PBT-free);
18. Whether the product is made of rapidly renewable materials;
19. Whether the product is refurbished;
20. Whether the product is water-efficient;
21. Whether the product is upgradeable;
22. Whether the product reduces greenhouse gas emissions;
23. Whether the ultimate disposal of the product at the end of its life cycle is safer compared to similar products;
24. Whether the product is recyclable and therefore can be kept out of the landfill.
(b) Incorporate environmental factors into the City’s product specifications, including but not limited to:
1. Minimization of virgin material use in product or service life cycle;
2. Maximization of recycled products used in product or service life cycle;
3. Environmental cost of entire product or service life cycle;
4. Reuse of existing products or materials in product or service life cycle;
5. Recyclability of product;
6. Minimization of packaging;
7. Reduction of energy and/or water consumption;
8. Toxicity reduction or elimination;
9. Elimination of uncertified hardwoods in product or service life cycle;
10. Durability and maintenance requirements;
11. Ultimate disposal of the product; and
12. Use of re-refined oil.
(c) Raise staff awareness of environmental issues affecting City product lifecycles through outreach, and by providing relevant information and training.
(d) Encourage suppliers and contractors to offer environmentally preferable products and services at competitive prices.
(e) Encourage providers of services to consider environmental impacts of service delivery by using environmentally preferable products and delivery methods whenever possible.
(f) Require any City department responsible for establishing contracts for landscaping maintenance, renovation, or construction to require its Direct Service Provider to procure, as necessary, Compost and SB 1383 Eligible Mulch produced from recovered organic waste for landscaping maintenance, renovation, or construction, as practicable, whenever available and capable of meeting specified quality standards and criteria. SB 1383 Eligible Mulch used for land application must meet or exceed the physical contamination, maximum metal concentration, and pathogen density standards specified in 14 CCR Section 17852(a)(24.5), Subsections (A)(1) through (3).
(g) Require the Awarding Authority to procure Compost and SB 1383 Eligible Mulch produced from recovered organic waste for landscaping maintenance, renovation, or construction, as practicable, whenever available and capable of meeting specified quality standards and criteria. SB 1383 Eligible Mulch used for land application must meet the physical contamination, maximum metal concentration, and pathogen density standards specified in 14 CCR Section 17852(a)(24.5), Subsections (A)(1) through (3).
(h) Require the Awarding Authority to procure renewable gas derived from Organic Waste that has been diverted from a landfill and processed at an in- vessel digestion facility that is permitted or otherwise authorized by 14 CCR to recover Organic Waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(62), for transportation fuel, electricity, and heating applications to the degree that it is appropriate and available.
(i) Require any vendor providing printing services to the City to use Printing and Writing Paper that consists of at least 30 percent, by fiber weight, Post-consumer material or as amended by California Public Contract Code Section 12209.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
Amended by: Subsecs. (f) through (i) added, Ord. No. 187,711, Eff. 1-18-23.
(a) Nothing in this Article shall be construed so as to require a City Department, Board, Commission or contractor to: (1) procure products that do not perform adequately for their intended use; (2) exclude adequate competition; and (3) procure products that are not available at a reasonable price in a reasonable period of time.
(b) Procedures and Guidelines may be established by the City Council as necessary to ensure the continuation of a strong Environmentally Preferable Procurement Program.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
(a) This Article specifically applies, but is not limited to, the purchase of the following products:
1. Paper products, including but not limited to fine grades of paper, corrugated boxes, newsprint, tissue, and toweling;
2. Compost and co-compost products;
3. Glass;
4. Lubricating oil;
5. Plastic;
6. Solvents and paint, including water-based paint;
7. Tires/re-treaded;
8. Building insulation;
9. Concrete and cement containing fly ash;
10. Automobile parts;
11. Rubber;
12. Asphalt;
13. Batteries;
14. Aggregate rock;
15. Remanufactured, recyclable or recycled toner cartridges;
16. Antifreeze/coolant;
17. Processed and crushed miscellaneous base materials; and
18. Movable/portable walls.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
(a) Specification Review.
1. All City departments, agencies, and offices that have responsibility for drafting or reviewing specifications for products procured by the City shall review those specifications and ascertain whether Environmentally Preferable Products are excluded from the specifications. All specifications with such exclusions shall be rewritten without the exclusion, unless performance standards cannot be satisfied without such exclusion.
2. Any statement in a specification that requires the product to be manufactured from virgin materials shall be eliminated, unless performance standards cannot be satisfied without such exclusion.
3. Any specification shall be revised if the performance standards arbitrarily exclude products containing Recycled, Recyclable and Environmentally Preferable Products that meet performance requirements.
4. Specifications shall allow the Recycled Material content in the products to be post-consumer content wherever practicable or allow that the Recycled Material utilized, if any, contain the highest percentage of Post-Consumer Content that is practicable.
5. Specifications that are unnecessarily stringent for a particular end use and that bear no relation to function or performance shall be revised in order to allow for a higher utilization of Recycled Materials containing Post-Consumer Content or other Environmentally Preferable Products.
6. When a product containing Post-Consumer Recycled Content or other Environmentally Preferable Product is produced in types and grades previously not available, specifications shall be revised to allow the use of such type or grade of product, where practicable.
7. Whenever performance standards allow, all specifications shall encourage bidders to submit bids on Environmentally Preferable Products.
8. Specifications shall allow the substitution of products made from virgin materials with Environmentally Preferable Products or products made from Recycled Materials, and, to the extent feasible, shall focus on performance standards.
9. Whenever practicable, specifications shall require a specific minimum amount or percentage of Recycled Content for the requested products. Such amount or percentage shall be based on criteria established by governmental or other widely recognized and respected third-party authorities (e.g., Energy Star, Green Seal, EPA Recycled Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) Purchasing Guidelines, Federal Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT) program guidelines for electronics, State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign (SABRC)).
(b) Powers and Duties of the Purchasing Agent.
1. The Purchasing Agent shall review the procurement specifications used by the requesting departments, agencies and offices in order to insure that they allow the procurement of Recycled Products or Environmentally Preferable Products.
2. The Purchasing Agent is hereby authorized to withhold their endorsement of approval of those specifications subject to this Article that do not comply with the provisions hereof.
3. The Purchasing Agent shall revise specifications to eliminate purchases of paper products deemed potential contaminants to the City’s recycling programs.
4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that an awarding authority not consider guarantees as to efficiency, operating cost, useful life, availability, time of delivery, and other appropriate life cycle cost assessment factors in determining the lowest and best responsible bidder. This section shall not be construed to relieve the contractor or vendor of providing a product that satisfactorily meets all specifications and performance standards. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed or construed to preclude an awarding authority from rejecting all bids as permitted by City Charter Section 371.
(5) The Purchasing Agent shall maintain records of all Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper purchases (including those with both Recycled content and non-Recycled content, if any), as detailed below.
i. The Purchasing Agent shall collect and collate copies of invoices or receipts (paper or electronic) or other proof of purchase that describe the procurement of Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper, including the volume and type of all paper purchases; and copies of certifications and other required verifications from all departments and/or divisions procuring Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper (whether or not they contain Recycled Content), and/or from the vendors providing Printing and Writing Paper and Paper Products.
ii. Any City department that purchases Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper not tracked or monitored by the Purchasing Agent must provide the following records to the Purchasing Agent within 30 days of purchase: a copy of the invoice or other documentation of purchase; written certifications as required by Section 10.32.9(b)(2) and 10.32.9(b)(3) of this Code for Recycled Content purchases; vendor name; purchaser name; quantity purchased; date purchased; and the amount of Recycled Content (including products containing none). If non- Recycled content Paper Products and/or non- Recycled Content Printing and Writing Paper are purchased, the records shall include a description of why Recycled Content Paper Products and/or Recycled Content Printing and Writing Paper were not purchased instead.
iii. The Purchasing Agent shall retain all records for five years as part of the documentation of the City’s compliance with 14 CCR Section 18993.3.
(6) The Purchasing Agent shall maintain records of all Compost and SB 1383 Eligible Mulch procured. A City Department that procures Compost and SB 1383 Eligible Mulch not tracked or monitored by the Purchasing Agent must provide records, as detailed below, to the Purchasing Agent within 30 days of procurement. Records shall include: a copy of the invoice or other documentation of procurement; the name, physical location, and contact information for each procurement source; the type of product; and the quantity provided in either tons or cubic yards.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
Amended by: Subsecs. (b)(5) and (b)(6) added, Ord. No. 187,711, Eff. 1-18-23.
Contractors or vendors shall certify in writing to the awarding authority the minimum, if not the exact, percentage of Recycled Material, both Post-Consumer Recycled Content and Secondary Waste as defined in Section 10.32.1 and other environmental attributes listed in Section 10.32.2(a) in products to be provided in the performance of the contract. The contractor or vendor shall provide such certification even in instances in which the product contains no Recycled Material or other environmental attributes. Failure to provide such certification shall result in the product being deemed to contain no Recycled Material or Environmentally Preferable attributes.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
(a) The Purchasing Agent is hereby authorized to establish procedures and guidelines for verifying that contractors supply environmentally preferred products according to the specifications in the contract.
(b) A firm which has obtained a contract by reason of having furnished incorrect supporting information and which by reason of such information has been awarded a contract to which it would not otherwise be entitled shall:
1. Pay to the City any difference between the amount paid to the firm pursuant to the contract and the calculated cost to the City if the contract had been properly awarded;
2. At the option of the City be subject to having all or part of the contract terminated; and
3. Be ineligible to transact any business with the City for a period of not less than three months and not more than 36 months as determined by the awarding authority.
(c) Prior to the imposition of any sanction under this section, the contractor or vendor shall be entitled to an administrative hearing by the awarding authority and to ten days prior notice of the time and place thereof. The Notice of Hearing shall state the reason for the hearing.
(d) The City shall retain all rights and remedies available under the contract.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
(a) The following shall be done by each awarding authority to promote the purchase of Environmentally Preferable Products:
1. Place a statement describing the City’s policy in procurement invitations; and
2. Describe the City’s policy in all bid documents.
(b) In addition, the Purchasing Agent shall inform industry trade associations and industry journals of the City’s policy, and respond to specific requests about products, materials and goods purchased by the City from persons interested in manufacturing such Environmentally Preferable Products.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
(a) A contractor or vendor shall certify in writing to the Awarding Authority the minimum, if not the exact, percentage of Recycled material, both post-consumer Recycled content and Secondary waste, in products to be provided in the performance of the contract. The contractor also shall certify the extent to which the products have any of the environmentally preferable attributes listed in Section 10.32.2(a). The contractor or vendor shall provide such certification even if the product contains no Recycled material or no other environmentally preferable attributes. Failure to provide such certification shall result in the product being deemed to contain no Recycled material and/or no environmentally preferable attributes.
(b) A contractor or vendor providing Paper Products and/or Printing and Writing Paper shall:
1. Only provide Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper that meet the Federal Trade Commission recyclability standard as defined in Title 16 Code of Federal Regulations Section 260.12 (2013).
2. Certify in writing, under penalty of perjury, to the minimum percentage of Post-consumer material in the Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper offered or sold to the City. This certification requirement may be waived if the percentage of Post- consumer material in the Paper Products, Printing and Writing Paper, or both, can be verified by a product label, catalog, invoice, or a manufacturer or vendor internet website.
3. Certify in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper offered or sold to the City are eligible to be labeled with an unqualified recyclable label as defined in Title 16 Code of Federal Regulations Section 260.12.
4. Provide records of all Paper Products and Printing and Writing Paper purchased from the vendor within 30 days of a purchase (purchases with both Recycled content and non-Recycled content) made by a department or employee of the City. Records shall include a copy of the invoice or other documentation of purchase, written certifications as required in Subdivisions 2. and 3. of this subsection for Recycled content purchases, the purchaser name, the quantity purchased, the date purchased, and the amount of Recycled content (including in products containing none); and if non-Recycled Content Paper Products and/or non-Recycled content Printing and Writing Paper are purchased, a description of why Recycled content Paper Products and/or Recycled content Printing and Writing Paper was not purchased instead.
(c) A Direct Service Provider providing Compost or SB 1383 Eligible Mulch shall keep records of procurement of Products (whether through purchase or acquisition) and shall provide such records to the Awarding Authority upon completion of projects. Such records shall include:
1. A general description of how and where the Product was used;
2. The Source of Product, including the name, physical location, and contact information for each entity, operation, or facility from which the Product was procured;
3. The Type of Product;
4. The quantity of each Product, in either tons or cubic yards; and
5. An invoice or other record documenting the purchase or procurement of the Product.
(d) The requirements in this section shall not apply to contracts funded in whole or in part by a grant or with funds from a grant or loan.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
Amended by: In Entirety, Ord. No. 187,711, Eff. 1-18-23.
(a) The Purchasing Agent may propose, subject to the approval of the City Council, rules and regulations not in conflict with this Article to assist the awarding authorities of the City to carry out the purposes of this Article. Those Departments which exercise independent control over their expenditure of funds and elect to adopt policies consistent with this Article may promulgate their own rules and regulations or adopt those proposed by the Purchasing Agent and approved by the City Council.
(b) Such rules may include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. The form and content of the statement to be obtained from prospective bidders; and
2. Identification of products and materials to be added or deleted from the application of this Article as set forth in Section 10.32.2.
The Purchasing Agent shall prepare and adopt a standard form to meet the requirements of Section 10.32.5. without further Council approval.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 180,751, Eff. 8-4-09, Oper. 11-4-09.
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