Leaves on palm trees are not the only green things on ASU's Tempe campus this summer. The school's new commitment to purchase from environment-friendly suppliers is making campus a greener place to be for students and staff.
This commitment requires all companies that want to do business with ASU to pass an environment test and meet certain environment-friendly standards.
The new procedure, ASU PUR 210, is a purchasing method that was implemented in March and is one of ASU's first attempts at going green.
"I think it's going quite well," said Gina Webber, associate director of purchasing and business services at ASU. "Companies understand that this is where the world is going, so they are very cooperative."
According to the policy, companies must use materials that are either recycled, recyclable, reusable, non-toxic or biodegradable.
The paper used on campus is just one of the changes made to meet the new standards.
Before the new method was implemented, ASU was using unrecycled, virgin paper. Now the entire campus uses recycled paper, Webber said.
By this fall, ASU hopes to install solar trash compactors and recycle bins that combine paper, aluminum, and plastic all in one bin, Webber said.
ASU also now researches not only what products they are using, but how those products are made before they purchase them.
"You can have a green product, but if while they're making it they dump toxic waste, it defeats the purpose," Webber said.
Purchasing solely from suppliers that provide green products is better for the environment but comes with an increased cost for ASU.
"In short-term it can be a little more expensive, but in long-term it will cut energy costs for the university," Webber said.
Webber said this change will make ASU more sustainable in the future by decreasing its carbon footprint, which is the impact our activites have on the environment. This is something ASU is trying to analyze and therefore reduce.
"As far as benefits to the environment, every product and service ASU buys has an environmental or carbon footprint," said Jonathan Fink, University Sustainability Officer for ASU. "So every purchasing choice has the potential to either help or damage the environment."
Now that ASU is using more environment-friendly materials, the university now has the potential to help the environment instead of damaging it.
"This is part of the message of sustainability: everybody can play a role, and everything we do can have an impact," Fink said.