The Office of Procurement serves all City departments with their procurement needs.  From water chemicals to fire trucks; from audit services to janitorial services.  We contract for many different goods and services.   And it is no small sum that we spend.  Each year, we negotiate and execute hundreds of contracts worth millions of dollars.  (Except construction contracts, which is handled directly by the department and represents millions of more dollars of spend.)  We strive to apply those dollars—taxpayer dollars—towards getting the best value for the City.

So what does best value mean?  It means procuring according to our City values.  And the City values sustainability and sustainable procurement.  We define sustainable procurement as contracting that furthers positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.  We have been doing this for a while now through initiatives spanning environmentally preferred purchasing, living wage, local preference, and supplier diversity, among others. 

In 2021, the City decided to take a more intentional and centralized approach to sustainable procurement.   And on May 26, 2021, the City Council unanimously passed a sustainable procurement policy. 

This policy requires City staff to present an interdepartmental sustainable procurement work plan and end-of-year report to a Council committee each year.  Procurement Services is the lead department and works closely with the Offices of Equity and Inclusion, Environmental Quality and Sustainability, Economic Development, and the Small Business Center, as well as the end-user department.

As we continue our sustainability journey, we would love to hear from you.  Please reach out to the Office of Procurement Services staff with questions, comments, or feedback.  Thank you!