Procurement
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."
- Improving our Responsible Procurement Performance
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.This reviews our progress in 5 key areas:
- Policy, Strategy and Communication
- People
- Procurement Process
- Supply Chain
- Measurement
- Audit Results
Click on hyperlinks to read the audit reports
- Our Aims
We're working towards achieving Platinum 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.