Our Procurement Top Tips

Here are some ideas on how you can help to reduce our impacts from purchasing-

Your purchasing decisions can make a big impact not only on finances but also on the environment and society as a whole. So, when you are considering purchasing items please…

• Ask yourself, ‘do I need to buy it?’ All goods and services use resources, by not buying them in the first place you can have the biggest impact.

• If the goods/ services are genuinely needed can you:

o Recycle, re-use or refurbish what you already have?
o Borrow?
o Lease or hire?
o Share with other departments or universities?
o If you need to buy furniture, check out our Furniture Reuse Scheme first, contact Andy Watts here.
 
• Don’t just think about the initial purchase price; consider all the running costs throughout the product/ service life to ensure you are getting value for money.

• Consider the pollution emitted and energy used when running the goods and services. You should also think about the pollution emitted and resources used to make them. Where possible buy:
 

o Recycled materials (need help understanding recycled materials labelling?)
o Low energy goods (need help understanding energy efficiency labels?) 
o Eco-labelled products (need help understanding ecolabels?) 
 
• Think about disposal of the products at the end of their life and try and purchase goods that will last and can be reused or recycled, and that don’t contain hazardous substances.

• Ensure that people and communities are not exploited in the making and provision of your goods and services e.g. child labour and poor working conditions.
 
• Join the CarbonCrew and be a sustainable procurement champion (find out more here).

If you are purchasing on behalf of the University these issues are checked when we establish contracts on your behalf so please use preferred suppliers. If you are not sure contact the Purchasing Team.

Need practical guidance on greener shopping?