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Title
1. This Policy is entitled the "Purchasing Policy".P-100-018
Purpose and goal
2. The goal of the Town's purchasing process is to obtain appropriate goods and services for the
Town in a manner that is fair and transparent, provides best value, is timely, promotes
sustainability, and abides by all applicable laws.
PART I - INTRODUCTORY
Interpretation
3. In this Policy:
(1) "alternative procurement practice" means the purchase of goods or services without a
public tender or other competitive process, usually due to an emergency or through sole
sourcing, in the circumstances described at s. 14 of this Policy;
(2) "best value" means evaluating purchase options not only on purchase price and life cycle
cost considerations, but also taking into account items such as sustainability factors,
delivery, servicing and the capacity of the supplier to meet other criteria as stated in
tender documents;
(3) "Council" means the Council of the Town;
(4) "life cycle cost" means the total costs associated with a product or asset over its life span,
including the cost of maintenance, repair, operation and disposal;
(5) "local business" means a person or organization that carries on a significant portion of its
business in the Town of Truro;
Town of Truro - Policy & Procedure Manual
Subject:
Purchasing Pol icy
Policy Number:
P-100-018
Approval Date: May 6, 2019
Departments:
All Departments
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(6) "public tender" means publicly advertising the Town's intended procurement of certain
goods or services and inviting responses from interested suppliers. Public tenders include
traditional tenders and requests for proposals, and are described at Schedule "A" of this
Policy;
(7) "request for proposals" or "RFP" means a formal invitation to suppliers to describe how
their services, methods, equipment or products can address and/or meet the needs of the
Town. Requests for proposals are described at Schedule "A" of this Policy;
(8) "request for quotations" means obtaining price quotations from a number of different
suppliers. Requests for quotations are described at Schedule "A" of this Policy. There
are two types of requests for quotations for the purposes of this Policy, as follows:
(a)
"informal request for quotations" means obtaining verbal price quotations from a
number of different suppliers;
(b)
"formal request for quotations" means obtaining formal, written price quotations
from a number of different suppliers;
(9) "standing offer" means a source of supply available to the Town either through a standing
price agreement with a supplier or as a member of a larger group of purchasers. Standing
offers are described at Schedule "A" of this Policy;
(10) "sustainability factors" means environmental and social considerations, including those
described in Schedule "B" to this Policy;
(11) "Town" means the Town of Truro;
(12) "traditional tender" means a formal invitation to suppliers to submit a bid to supply
specified goods or services. Traditional tenders are described at Schedule "A" of this
Policy.
(13) "request for qualification" is an invitation to suppliers of goods, service and construction
and shall be used for the purpose of selecting qualified bidders if the nature of the work
or service to be performed requires ascertainable minimum standards.
(14) "request for expression of interest" shall be used to determine the interest in the
marketplace in providing goods, services, construction or facilities contemplated to
procured by the Town.
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Application of this Policy
4. This Policy applies to the procurement by the Town of all goods and services, including
construction and facilities, by purchase or lease.
Purchase Policy principles
5. All purchases carried out by the Town must be carried out with a view to:
(1) ensuring an equitable, open and transparent process for the acquisition of goods and
services by the Town;
(2) avoiding dishonesty, corruption or favouritism in the purchase of goods and services;
(3) encouraging competitive bidding wherever possible and, in any event, minimizing the
Town's cost of acquiring goods and services while obtaining best value;
(4) utilizing suppliers who can be expected to provide satisfactory performance;
(5) taking into account environmental considerations in all procurement decisions and
selecting environmentally beneficial goods and services where practical;
(6) complying with applicable regional, national, and international trade agreements,
including the Agreement on Internal Trade and the Atlantic Procurement Agreement;
(7) complying with the Public Procurement Act, and Regulations made pursuant to the
Public Procurement Act.
6. Pursuant to s. 15(1) of the Public Procurement Act, all employees involved in procurement
on behalf of the Town must:
(1) ensure their procurement activities are conducted according to this Policy, provincial and
federal legislation, trade agreements and ethical business practices;
(2) encourage and support collaborative procurement amongst other municipalities and
public sector entities such as hospitals and school boards;
(3) follow leading procurement practices;
(4) in good faith, conduct business with current and prospective suppliers and be fair in all
business dealings;
(5) strive to obtain the best value for each expenditure;
(6) require suppliers provide accurate representations of goods, services and construction;
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(7) encourage suppliers to consider integrating environmental, economic and social
considerations in their product or service offerings;
(8) encourage the negotiation of an equitable and mutually acceptable settlement when a
dispute arises;
(9) request removal from a procurement process when a personal conflict of interest is
perceived.
PART II - NORMAL PROCUREMENT PRACTICES
7. In addition to adhering to the principles in sections 5 and 6, normal purchasing practices must
be as described below in sections 8 to 11.
8. For goods and services having a value of less than $2,000:
(1) The purchase decision may be made by those Town staff who have been designated by
the CAO to have purchasing authority.
(2) Goods and services must be procured under a standing offer if one exists for the goods or
services required, and if doing so will provide best value.
(3) If the goods or services cannot be procured under subsection (2), it is recommended that
the goods or services be procured by an informal request for quotations from more than
one supplier.
9. For goods and services having a value between $2,000 and $10,000:
(1) The purchase decision must be made by the Department Head of the department for
which the purchase is required, in consultation with the Purchasing Officer.
(2) Goods and services must be procured under a standing offer if one exists for the goods or
services required, and if doing so will provide best value.
(3) If the goods or services cannot be procured under subsection (2), the goods or services
must be procured by a formal request for quotations. In addition to any other
requirements for the formal request for quotations process, the following requirements
must be met:
(a) all quotations must be obtained in writing (via hand delivery, regular mail, fax or
email is acceptable);
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10. For goods and services having a value of more than $10,000
(1) Goods and services must be procured under a standing offer if one exists for the goods or
services required, and if doing so will provide best value. The decision of whether to
purchase through a standing offer must be made by the Department Head of the
department for which the purchase is required, in consultation with the Purchasing
Officer.
(2) If goods or services are not procured under subsection (1), the goods and services must be
purchased by public tender (traditional tender or RFP), which may be preceded by a
request for qualifications or request for expressions of interest.
(3) For all RFPs and traditional tenders, the Purchasing Officer and the responsible
Department Head must determine whether there will be an evaluation committee, and if
so, the composition of it.
(4) The role of the evaluation committee is the following:
(a) evaluate the bids or proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria;
(b) review the bids or proposals for compliance with this Policy and with the terms of the
tender or RFP;
(c) rank the bids or proposals and/or develop a short-list;
(d) in the case of an RFP, interview suppliers if the evaluation committee feels it would
be beneficial to do so;
(e) decide on the successful supplier, or make a recommendation to Council where
required.
(5) The purchase decision for each traditional tender or RFP must be made as follows:
(a) Council shall make the purchase decision if:
(i) there is not a budget for the purchase, or if the bid providing best value exceeds
the budget; or
(ii) Council decides that, because of the significance or cost of the purchase or
project, Council should make the purchase decision;
(b) if Council does not make the purchase decision, the decision must be made by the
Department Head in consultation with the Purchasing Officer, or by the evaluation
committee if one has been established to evaluate the bids.
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Other means of public procurement
11. The Town may use another method of purchasing goods and services having a value of over
$10,000, in addition to or in substitution for a standing offer, traditional tender or RFP, such
as a request for expressions of interest or a pre-qualification process, if all of the following
criteria are met:
(1) the method involves publicly advertising the Town's intended purchase of certain goods
and services, and invites responses from interested suppliers;
(2) the method meets the requirements for traditional tenders and RFPs in this Policy to the
extent possible;
(3) the method meets the principles described in s. 5 of this Policy;
(4) the CAO approves the method.
PART III - PUBLIC TENDERS - TRADITIONAL TENDERS AND REQUESTS FOR
PROPOSALS
Requirements for all traditional tenders and RFPs
12. The following requirements apply to all traditional tenders and RFPs:
(1) The Town must provide reasonable notice and opportunity to respond to traditional
tenders and RFPs, and must post or place notices of traditional tenders and RFPs as
follows:
(a) on the public website maintained and operated by the government of Nova Scotia;
(b) in the Truro Daily News, when the Purchasing Officer determines that the benefit of
doing so justifies the increased cost;
(c) in other local, provincial, or national media, when the CAO determines that the
benefit of doing so justifies the increased cost.
(2) The Town may also directly notify specific suppliers of a traditional tender or RFP and
invite those suppliers to respond, if the Town believes that doing so is likely to improve
the quality or quantity of bids or proposals.
(3) Every traditional tender and RFP must include or have attached the terms and conditions
that govern the tender.
(4) The terms and conditions of every notice of traditional tender and RFP must be consistent
with:
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(a) the standard instructions that support public tenders issued by the four Atlantic
provinces for goods and services, known as the Atlantic Standard Terms and
Conditions, for the purchase of goods and services;
(b) the standard instructions that support construction tenders issued by the government
of Nova Scotia, known as the Construction Contract Guidelines, for the purchase of
construction.
(5) Traditional tenders and RFPs should normally include specifications or terms as follows:
(a) a privilege clause stating that the lowest or any bid or proposal will not necessarily be
accepted, and that the Town reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids or
proposals;
(b) suppliers must deliver bids or proposals to the Purchasing Department by way of
courier or mail in a sealed envelope;
(c) all questions or requests for clarification from suppliers must be directed to the
Purchasing Department;
(d) the time and date of closing;
(e) a warning that tender documents and bids will be open to the public, except to the
extent otherwise stated in a call for tenders or a RFP, in which event there must be a
warning that proposals or bids are subject to the Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy provisions of the Municipal Government Act.
(6) Traditional tenders and RFPs may also include a form of contract that the successful
supplier will be required to enter into with the Town.
(7) If the Town receives a question or request for clarification regarding a tender or RFP:
(a) if there is an evaluation committee for the tender or RFP, the Purchasing Officer and
the evaluation committee must decide upon what response, if any, will be provided;
(b) if there is not an evaluation committee for the tender or RFP, the Purchasing Officer
and the responsible Department Head must decide upon what response, if any, will be
provided;
(c) the Purchasing Officer will post the response on the tender listing on the provincial
website.
(8) For each traditional tender and RFP that is awarded, the Town must post the name of the
successful supplier and the contract amount on the public website maintained and
operated by the government of Nova Scotia website.
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(9) The terms and conditions of every traditional tender and RFP must state the criteria that
the Town will use in evaluating responses. Those criteria are not limited to purchase
price and life cycle cost considerations, but may also include items such as sustainability
factors, delivery, servicing, the capacity of the supplier, and the supplier's experience and
ability.
Supplier debriefing
13. Upon the request of a supplier who is an unsuccessful bidder in a traditional tender or RFP,
the Town must conduct a debriefing with that supplier to provide feedback on the evaluation
of the traditional tender or RFP. The debriefing must be conducted as follows:
(1) the Purchasing Officer and either the CAO or responsible Department Head must conduct
the debriefing;
(2) the debriefing must provide reasons for the disqualification of the supplier, or in the case
where evaluation scoring was used, provide an overview of the supplier's score in each
category and reasons for that score;
(3) the debriefing must also provide information to the supplier on how to improve future
submissions;
(4) the debriefing must not disclose any information regarding other bidders or their
submissions.
PART IV - ALTERNATE PROCUREMENT - EMERGENCY AND SOLE SOURCE
PURCHASES
14. In certain circumstances, described in this section, the Town may purchase goods or services
without using one of the options set out above. An alternative procurement purchase may
occur only:
(1) In an emergency, where an unforeseeable situation of urgency exists and the goods,
services or construction cannot be obtained in time by means of the regular purchase
procedures.
(a) Emergencies include a lack of supplies or services that will have a significant adverse
affect on the functioning of the Town, threaten public or private property or the
environment, or jeopardize the health or safety of the public.
(b) Emergency purchases will be completed using the most expedient method in the
circumstances but will take best value into consideration.
(c) If the emergency purchase exceeds $2000 the purchasing employee will report the
emergency purchase to their Department Head who will provide the Purchasing
Officer with documentation of the purchase.
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(2) Where goods or consulting services regarding matters of a confidential or privileged
nature are to be purchased and the disclosure of those matters through an open tendering
process could reasonably be expected to compromise government confidentiality, cause
economic disruption or otherwise be contrary to the public interest;
(3) Where compliance with the open tendering provisions set out in this Policy would
interfere with the Town's ability to maintain security or order or to protect human, animal
or plant life or health;
(4) In the absence of tenders in response to an open or selective tender, or when the tenders
submitted have been collusive, or not in conformity with the essential requirements in the
tender;
(5) To ensure compatibility with existing products, to recognize exclusive rights, such as
exclusive licenses, copyright and patent rights, or to maintain specialized products that
must be maintained by the manufacturer or its representative;
(6) Where there is an absence of competition for technical reasons and the goods or services
can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no alternative or substitute exists;
(7) For the purchase of goods or services the supply of which is controlled by a supplier that
is a statutory monopoly;
(8) For the purchase of goods on a commodity market;
(9) For work to be performed on or about a leased building or portions thereof that may be
performed only by the lessor;
(10) For work to be performed on property by a contractor according to provisions of a
warranty or guarantee held in respect of the property or the original work;
(11) For the purchase of a prototype or a first good or service to be developed in the course of
and for a particular contract for research, experiment, study or original development, but
not for any subsequent purchases;
(12) Where authorized by the CAO, for the purchase of goods under exceptionally
advantageous circumstances such as bankruptcy or receivership, at auction or through
tender, but not for routine purchases;
(13) For the purchase of original works of art;
(14) For the purchase of subscriptions to newspapers, magazines or other periodicals;
(15) For the purchase of real property;
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(16) For the purchase of goods intended for resale to the public;
(17) For a purchase from philanthropic institutions, prison labour, persons with disabilities,
sheltered workshop programs or through employment equity programs;
(18) For a purchase from a public body or a non-profit organization; or
(19) For the purchase of services of expert witnesses, specifically in anticipation of litigation
or for the purpose of conducting litigation.
15. Except for an emergency purchase under s. 14(1), alternative procurement purchases must be
made in accordance with the following process:
(1) The responsible Department Head or their designate must submit their request for an
alternative procurement purchase in writing to the Purchasing Officer, explaining why
they believe an alternative procurement purchase is necessary.
(2) The Purchasing Officer must discuss the request with the Department Head to ensure an
alternative procurement purchase is required.
(3) If the Purchasing Officer is satisfied an alternative procurement purchase is necessary,
the request and explanation is sent to the CAO for approval.
(4) The CAO will assess the request. If the request is approved, the CAO will notify the
Purchasing Officer, and if the request is denied, the CAO will notify the Purchasing
Officer with an adequate reasoning as to why the request has been denied.
(5) The purchase should be completed through negotiation with the available supplier or
suppliers of the goods or services required.
16. When an alternative procurement purchase occurs, the reason for doing so must be
documented.
DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS ASSETS
17. Method of Disposal
(1) Where practical, user departments shall make Surplus Assets declared by the respective
Department Head available to other user departments before seeking to dispose of them outside
of the Municipality.
(2) The Procurement Department shall arrange for the sale of Surplus Assets that cannot be
redistributed internally.
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(3) Surplus Assets shall be sold by the most effective means in order to obtain the highest net
value for the Municipality.
(4) The sale of Surplus shall be approved by the CAO.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, Surplus Assets may be sold at less than
market value or donated to a not-for-profit corporation, association, or entity or any
Municipality, Crown Corporation, School Board, or any level of government. Such sales or
donations shall be approved by the CAO unless the undepreciated value of the Surplus Assets
exceeds $10,000, in which case such sales or donations shall be approved by Council.
(6) Surplus Assets that cannot be sold or donated, or for which sales costs exceed the anticipated
revenue, shall be disposed of by a cost effective disposal method by the Business Unit owning
the asset and such assets shall be considered as solid waste and disposed of in an
environmentally responsible manner, consistent with the principles of sustainable development
and in accordance with governing legislation for waste disposal.
(7) Corporate Services is to be informed when assets have been disposed of to ensure appropriate
action is taken to record the disposal and make necessary adjustments to the Municipalities asset
holdings.
PART V - LOCAL PREFERENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS
Local preference
18. The Town must give preference to purchasing goods and services from local businesses
in accordance with the following:
a. In evaluating which goods or services offer best value to the Town, the Town may
apply a preference of 5% to the price offered by a local business as compared
with non-local businesses, such that the price offered by the local business is
adjusted lower by 5% for the purposes of evaluating which goods or services offer
best value.
b. The decision as to whether to apply a local preference to a particular purchase lies
with the Purchasing Officer, in consultation with the responsible Department
Head, for purchases of less the threshold outlined in the Atlantic Procurement
Agreement.
c. If a local preference is being applied to a purchase, the request for quotations, or
notice of tender or RFP, must state that local preference applies to the purchase.
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(4) In accordance with the Atlantic Procurement Agreement, a local preference may not be
applied to the following purchases:
(a) Goods that have a value of $25,000 or greater;
(b) Services that have a value of $50,000 or greater;
(c) Construction that has a value of $100,000 or greater.
Sustainability considerations
19. Pursuant to the Public Procurement Act, in evaluating which goods or services offer best
value to the Town, the Town may consider sustainability factors.
20. All requests for quotations, notices of tender and RFPs must list the sustainability factors
that apply to the purchase, and may include some or all of the sustainability factors
contained in Schedule "B" of this Policy.
PART VI - GENERAL
Conflicts of interest
21. If an employee otherwise authorized to make a purchase or award a contract has a
conflict of interest (that is, he or she stands to gain or lose financially from a contract
award), the award must be made by the person to whom the conflicted staff member
normally reports and the conflicted staff member must not participate in the purchase
process related to the contract in any manner. If Council is making the purchase
decision, the Conflict of Interest Act applies to Councillors.
Duration of contracts
22. Contracts for goods and services that are required to be procured by public tender under
this Policy, including price agreements, must be re-tendered at least once every [five]
years but may be re-tendered more frequently at the direction of Council.
Estimating the value of goods and services
23. In determining the cost of the goods or services for the purpose of deciding which of sections
8, 9 or 10 apply to a purchase, staff must reasonably estimate the cost of the goods or
services.
Posting on Town website
24. A copy of this Policy must be posted on the Town's website.
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Compliance with Policy
25. All staff and Councillors must act in good faith to comply with this Policy, but failure to
comply with this Policy does not invalidate any purchase decision or act of the Town, nor is
the Town liable to any supplier or prospective supplier for failing to comply with this Policy.
26. Vendor Performance
a. Vendors may be subject to disqualification if there is sufficient evidence of consistent
failure to meet standards specified by the Town of Truro. The Procurement
Department shall maintain vendor performance files. Information in this file is
supplied by the requisitioner, receivers, and the procurement officer. Vendors may be
evaluated based on competitive price, quality of a product, contract adherence and
performance, after sales service and replies to call for bids. Upon reasonable notice in
writing to the vendor involved, and after a reasonable opportunity for response, a
vendor can be disqualified for a period not exceeding three years from participation
in a solicitation for goods, services, construction or facilities.
b. Vendors shall be disqualified when:
i. Conviction for a criminal offense of a person or a director or official or such
person relating to obtaining or attempting to obtain a contract or subcontract
or an indication of lack of business integrity or honesty which directly and
seriously effects the responsibility of the contractor.
ii. Serious breach of contract indicating an unwillingness to perform a contract
in accordance with the terms and conditions or specifications or a record of
unsatisfactory performance of one or more contracts in accordance with the
terms and conditions thereof or in accordance with its specifications or both.
This would also include feedback from past projects completed outside of the
Town of Truro.
iii. The offer of any gratuity to an official or employee of the Municipality by a
vendor or contractor for consideration.
c. A written decision shall be issued to the person disqualified or suspended setting out
its reasons for disqualification or suspension, to the usual business address of that
person as shown in the records of the purchasing section.
d. Disqualification shall be approved by the C.A.O.
Replaces existing Purchasing Policy
28. This Policy repeals and replaces the Town's Purchasing Policy, Policy number
P1040000.
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SCHEDULE "A" - PURCHASE METHODS
A.
Standing offers: May be used for purchases of any value. See sections 8(2), 9(2) and
10(1) of Policy.
A standing offer is a source of supply available to the Town either through a standing price
agreement with a supplier or as a member of a larger group of purchasers. Standing offers
include:
i. a standing agreement between the Town and a supplier in which the
supplier commits to providing specified goods or services at a specific
price for a specific period of time;
ii. equipment leasing programs through the Government of Nova Scotia;
iii. Nova Scotia Provincial "standing offers" administered by the Nova Scotia
Government;
iv. supplies and services available from the Nova Scotia Government;
v. a procurement program administered by the Union of Nova Scotia
Municipalities or the Association of Municipal Administrators;
vi. any other program available to several municipal units and other public
sector entities such as hospitals and school boards, provided that
municipal staff is satisfied that such program has been developed and
conforms with the principles set out in section 5 of this Policy.
B.
Request for quotations: May be used for purchases of up to $10,000. See sections 8(3)
and 9(3) of Policy.
A request for quotations process involves obtaining price quotations from a number of different
suppliers. Requests for quotations are generally used when the cost of the goods or services does
not warrant the time, effort and expense required for a public tender or RFP process.
Where this Policy requires formal, written quotations (for purchases between $2,000 and
$10,000), quotations must normally be sought from at least three suppliers, but fewer suppliers
may be used when three suppliers are not available within a reasonable distance, having regard to
the value of the goods and services, the shipping or travel cost and the amount of time available
before the goods and services are required to be available. If it is decided to obtain fewer than
three written quotations, the person responsible for that decision must document their reasons for
doing so.
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Where this policy allows for informal, verbal quotations (for purchases less than $2,000), it is
recommended, but not required, that quotations be sought from three suppliers. The person
obtaining the quotations must document each quotation, including the time, date, supplier, price
and description of the goods and services, the person from whom the quotation was obtained and
the name of the municipal employee who obtained the quotation.
C.
Public tender: Used for purchases of over $10,000. See sections 10 and 12 of Policy.
Public tenders can be in the form of "traditional tenders" or "requests for proposals" and involve
publicly advertising the Town's intended purchase of certain goods or services and inviting
responses from interested suppliers. Traditional tenders and RFPs are used for higher value
purchases, when the cost of the goods or services warrants the time, effort and expense required
for a public tender process.
1. Traditional tender
A traditional tender is a competitive bidding process, consisting of a formal invitation to
suppliers to submit a bid to supply specified goods or services. A traditional tender should
be used when the purchase requirements of the Town can be clearly and completely
specified. A traditional tender should not be used where it is clear that negotiations will be
required after the close of tenders.
Traditional tenders do not have to be opened in public, but if they are not, the name of each
bidder and the amount of their bid must be made available to each bidder after the tenders are
opened.
The Town must not negotiate with any bidders, but must award the purchase contract to the
bidder that meets the tender requirements and provides best value.
2. Request for proposals
A request for proposals is a formal invitation to suppliers to describe how their services,
methods, equipment or products can address and/or meet the needs of the Town. An RFP
may be used when the Town is unable to clearly or completely specify the goods or services
required, and suppliers are therefore asked to provide a solution to the problem, requirement
or objective. RFPs may also be used for professional and consulting services.
Request for Proposal documents should be drafted by the Department Head or an employee
designated by the Department Head, in consultation with the Purchasing Officer.
In order to preserve confidentiality of sensitive commercial information contained in a
proposal, proposals submitted in response to a request for a proposal need not be opened in
public, but must be opened in the presence of at least two representatives of the Town, and
after the proposals are opened a list of the proponents (but not prices) must be available to
the public and the proponents upon request.
A Request for Proposal may be structured as a single phase or multiple phase process in order to
select a successful proponent or proponents.
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Negotiations may be conducted with a proponent after proposals have been opened, subject
to complying with the terms of the RFP, which must be drafted to avoid unfair "bid-
shopping" by the Town (that is, to avoid using the bids submitted as a negotiating tool to
obtain a better price or other benefit).
The Town must award the contract to the supplier whose proposal is determined to provide
best value to the Town based upon the evaluation criteria set out in the RFP and equitably
applied to all proposals.
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SCHEDULE "B" - SUSTAINABILITY FACTORS
Sustainability factors used in determining best value are as follows:
Environmental
Is the product durable?
Is it energy or fuel efficient?
Is it certified by a recognized standards body or bodies (eg. Energy Star,
OrganicCPRO, FSC, etc.)?
Is it toxic or utilize toxic substances in manufacturing or operation?
What is the 'full- cost' and 'full-life' of the product in terms of natural resource
depletion, manufacturing impact (energy, pollution), transportation emissions,
operation emissions, and disposal (waste)?
Is it made from recycled materials?
Is it recyclable?
Is it minimally packaged?
In the case of services, are the services delivered in a manner that minimizes
energy consumption and carbon emissions?
Social
Is the product ethically produced or services ethically provided, including:
o fair wages for employees?
o reasonable and safe working conditions for employees?
o employees' human rights respected?
o product tested on animals?
-
Is it certified by a recognized standards body or bodies (eg. TransFair, ISO)?
-
Is there an opportunity to serve affirmative action goals?
-
Is it healthy?