Procurement

Did you know that 2/3rds of UCL's carbon emissions come from the goods and services that UCL buys? As well as addressing the environmental impacts of UCL's purchasing, we must consider the social impacts too, such as ensuring fair employment and eradicating Modern Day Slavery in our supply chains. It is therefore critical we understand the impact and opportunities of UCL’s sourcing and buying decisions.

We define responsible procurement as:

" the process whereby environmental, social and financial impacts of all of UCL's procurement processes are taken into account, making sure to reduce negative impacts and enhance positive impacts."

What does this mean in practice?

Responsible procurement at UCL is a collaboration between the Sustainability and Procurement team. We follow the Responsible Procurement Code, an external verification based on the Government’s Flexible Framework Tool for Procurement. In 2019 UCL was audited and awarded Gold Certification, having achieved Silver in 2015. View our 2019 RPC Audit Report and 2015 RPC audit report for more detail.

Our Aims

We're working towards achieving Gold certification in the Responsible Procurement Code. To achieve our ambition, we will:

Increase engagement with our suppliers - through launching the Net Positive tool, developing tailored action plans for all suppliers. This will address Modern Day Slavery in our supply chains.
Develop a circular economy model – where reuse, repair and recycling is embedded into our procurement strategy.
Up-skill UCL staff in sustainable procurement– by utilising the expertise of both the procurement and sustainability team, we are developing training for procurement staff so they can make responsible choices.
Ensure sustainability is considered in ALL purchases – primarily through contributing to tender specifications, developing policies and processes and creating buying standards.
Monitor procurement for sustainability risk and opportunity, to prioritise action accordingly -we have performed a Defra prioritisation exercise, which evaluates UCL's spend and identifies focus areas. Our NETpositive tool means we are addressing risk down our supply chains.