Campus News
March 30, 2011
Order office supplies for a smaller footprint
Shrink Emory's carbon footprint generated by vendors who deliver by truck to campus.
"One of the ways to directly impact this is to consolidate office supply orders to include a minimum of $50 per order," says Loette King, senior director, procurement and contract administration, finance division.
The procurement office, in collaboration with the Office of Sustainability Initiatives, is bringing to the attention of campus departments how adjusting order size can reduce the University's carbon footprint.
"Additionally, planning supply orders to be delivered less often and only placing ‘emergency' orders when necessary will also minimize the University's greenhouse gas emissions," King says.
In 2010, the University placed nearly 5,000 orders under $50. Had all orders under $50 been eliminated, the 100 percent reduction could have saved more than 33,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. The equivalent of 45 trees would have been saved and more than 3,000 pounds of solid waste eliminated.
The analyses for the savings and reductions assumptions were done by Staples, which is Emory's preferred office supplier.
For more information, contact Customer Care at 404.727.5400. To see all of the savings that can be generated, visit the Procurement and Payment website.
