Sustainable procurement

Group of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Hallward Library The University of Nottingham is establishing sustainable procurement procedures and practices through all of its tenders and contracts. Major contracts where sustainability has been incorporated include:

Computers ─ our latest computer supply contract specifies low power demand equipment, considers whole life costing and provides for return of packaging and recycling of old equipment
Office furniture ─ all suppliers certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
Hopper buses ─ the latest contract includes new lower emission diesel vehicles, with software to monitor and encourage fuel-efficient driving

Sourcing food

Our sustainable food policy reflects our commitment to sourcing foods from a sustainable source. The University’s success in this has been recognised with multiple awards:

Soil Association’s Food for Life Bronze Catering Mark ─ for using fresh seasonal ingredients sourced from local suppliers, British high welfare meat and our commitment to providing meals free of hydrogenated fats and GM ingredients
Marine Stewardship Council certification ─ in response to us opting to only purchase fish from sustainable and traceable sources
Good Egg Award from the Compassion in World Farming organisation ─ recognises our commitment to only procuring eggs from cage-free hens
Fairtrade University status

Other initiatives

Deliveries ─ we work with our suppliers to amalgamate orders and consolidate deliveries to minimise transport
Managed print service ─ to minimise use of desktop printers, reduce paper usage and introduce a more efficient, greener method of printing
Online travel and expenses system ─ allows travellers to view the carbon emissions of a potential trip, enabling informed decisions to be made
Water coolers ─ are now mains fed, reducing the environmental impact of providing bottled water as well as offering financial savings
PC replacement ─ moved from a 3-year to 4-year replacement cycle
Purchasing cards ─ remove the need for paper invoices to be sent and online reconciliation removes the need to keep any paper records

Sustainability Team

Estate Office, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD

Telephone: 0115 951 3600 (ext 13600) Fax: 0115 951 3636 (ext 13636)
Email: sustainability@nottingham.ac.uk