Sustainable supply chain

We already have a well-established approach to sustainable procurement through our Supplier Code of Conduct and Purchasing Policy. These policies set out minimum ethical, social, and environmental standards and behaviours expected of suppliers. However, with our supply chain accounting for over 60% of the emissions that we need to reduce to be net zero by 2035, we want to go even further.

That is why we are launching a new Sustainable Procurement Principles Framework in summer 2021 alongside this strategy. The framework sets out the nine areas of sustainability (three social, three environmental and three economic) that we want the organisations that supply our goods and services to be committed to. These areas are:

  • Net zero target and action plan
  • Recycling target
  • Responsible consumption and production
  • Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) training for staff and supply chain staff
  • Staff access to wellbeing programmes
  • Supporting and volunteering in local issues
  • Initiatives to reduce inequality in the workplace
  • Real living wage accreditation
  • Engaging small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) in the supply chain.

The framework will enable us to set out minimum standards in certain areas and to help select the suppliers that more closely share our sustainability values in other areas, through a process of proportionate competitive scoring. We will monitor performance against these principles throughout contract lifecycles to ensure our suppliers share our dedication to these aims, and deliver against their promises. In doing so we will avoid creating unnecessary barriers to SMEs and VCSEs.

While we are confident that our new procurement principles will promote social, environmental and economic sustainability, we are keen to collaborate and learn from others in relation to best sustainable procurement practices. So, we will use an independent organisation to assess the quality of our sustainable practices against the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Standard by August 2022 and consider what (if any) action is required to make any desired improvements by August 2023 (subject to a feasibility review).

We will also investigate the feasibility of applying for Living Wage Accreditation by August 2023. This award is provided by the Living Wage Foundation in recognition of employers who voluntarily pay all staff more than the statutory minimum wage; and who are working towards ensuring that their sub-contractors on campus such as catering and maintenance staff employed by third-party organisations are doing the same. So, we will work with these partner organisations to see if we can all pay the Real Living Wage together and say ‘no’ to poverty in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Finally, we will continue to be active members of the Responsible Procurement Group, where non-profit organisations and education institutes share best practice.