Manufacturing and Distribution - sample language

Goals and Objectives:

Multnomah County’s vision is an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 and one of the many ways this will be accomplished will be through waste reduction.

In the 2009 Climate Action Plan, Multnomah County (along with the City of Portland) calls upon the citizens and businesses in the metro area to achieve two 2030 objectives related to waste reduction:

Reduce total solid waste generated by 25 percent, and
Recover 90 percent of all waste generated.
The 2030 carbon emissions objective is a 50% reduction from 1990 levels coming from City and County operations. The combination of (1) more efficient production and distribution, and (2) waste reduction and recycling measures accounts for over one third of this goal.


Question: Please describe any sustainable practices your company follows in the manufacturing or distribution of the product(s) identified in this procurement.

Evaluation criteria: Evaluators may wish to accept any one or some combination of the following:

  • Demonstrated use of recycled materials, if applicable, during the manufacturing process.
  • Demonstrated use of resource conservation methods (saving energy and/or water) or alternative energy methods used in the manufacturing process.
  • Documented analysis, process changes or product changes the vendor undertook to identify any toxic substances (of concern to human or environmental health) and to replace them with more sustainable alternatives.
  • Documentation of sustainable practices followed in the distribution and delivery of the product including, but not limited to, such things as route optimization, sustainable packaging to reduce packaged product weight, use of reduced or recycled packaging materials and/or use of alternative fuels in the distribution process.
  • Receipt of any awards or certifications. Examples include City of Portland BEST award, EcoLogo or GreenSeal.

Question: Please provide any documentation related to the durability and/or reusability of the product(s) described in this procurement.

Evaluation criteria: Documentation useful to evaluators might include:

  • Performance: expected product life; historic product performance and maintenance data; product performance under standard working conditions; product performance under extreme working conditions.
  • Description of awards or recognition for quality given to the business or for the specific product.
  • Description of the process of repair, remanufacture, recharge and/or repurpose of the product(s) described in the procurement.
  • Question: Please provide documentation related to any resource efficiency features of the product(s) that result in reduction in operating costs, resources used (water, energy), and/or greenhouse gas emissions of the product(s) described in this procurement.

Evaluation criteria: Documentation useful to evaluators might include:

  • Details of training, maintenance, or general usage practices that are required to achieve the estimated efficiency and savings.
  • Descriptions of any other savings or advantages resulting from the use of the product. Examples include: savings of human resources and productivity; savings in the use of other supplies such as paper; improvements in safety resulting in lower insurance costs or health care costs, etc. Descriptions should include details of any kinds of training, maintenance, or general usage practices that are required to achieve the estimated efficiency and savings.

Question: Given recycling practices in Multnomah County facilities (go to either /recycle or to http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=24197 ) please describe the process for disposal of your product.

Evaluation criteria:

  • Product is either recyclable or compostable (if applicable) in all the Multnomah County facilities in which it is to be used; or
  • Product is 100% biodegradable; or
  • Vendor has a take-back program to remove used products and recycle them at vendor’s facility/location on behalf of Multnomah County.
  • In 2006 the County adopted a Toxics Reduction strategy, a plan for minimizing the use of substances of concern in County operations. Substances of concern include chemical compounds deemed by the County to present an undue risk to human health or the environment in their use or disposal.

Question: Provide descriptions of analysis, process changes or product changes you have undertaken or are undertaking to identify and/or replace any toxic substances in your product.

Evaluation criteria:

  • Vendor has identified toxic substances and has already replaced them or has plans to replace them with less toxic alternatives; or
  • Vendor has identified toxic substances as the result of product disposal and has a take-back program to remove used products and recycle them at vendor’s facility/location on behalf of Multnomah County.
  • If safe disposal of the product requires processes other than those currently available in Multnomah County (go to /recycle or http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=24197 ), the evaluators may assign a cost to the disposal and may add that to the proposal cost for evaluation purposes.