Sustainable Procurement Policy (including Fairtrade)

We recognise that procurement has a significant impact on the environment and, as such, we are committed to reducing this impact as much as possible. This Sustainable Procurement Policy reflects the principles for a pan-university procurement strategy, production, and service; and is in keeping with the University’s wider environmental sustainability policies, Climate Action Progress and commitment towards the People and Planet Campaign.

We currently include sustainability standards in procurement agreements. 

Specific work on sustainable food procurement is referenced within our Sustainable Food Policy which requires that sustainability standards are embedded within all tenders and contracts with external contractors, including 

- maximising the use of seasonal and local produce

- prioritising products and services that can be manufactured, used, and disposed of in an environmental and socially responsible way

- using fish from sustainable sources

- selecting fair trade products.

The policy states that we have a “responsibility to procure food in a sustainable manner” and “to work with our suppliers to promote a procurement ethos of buying products locally” as well as working “with our contracted supplier for produce to try and maximise seasonal produce and aiming for vegetables to be locally sourced where possible.” It commits to giving “preference to products and services that can be manufactured, used, and disposed of in an environmental and socially responsible way”.

We are working closely with our produce supplier, Foodbuy, to provide further information to diners on food provenance and nutrition and this was noted in our Food Made Good report “We were also impressed by your carbon carbon-rated menu initiative, as well as work underway with Foodbuy to provide more information around provenance and nutrition on your menu via a QR code and app.”

We also work on ICT procurement, for example through inclusion of sustainability elements in tenders and agreements to ensure server providers are well aligned to our sustainability ambitions.

The University is a member of the North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC). Sustainability expectations are embedded within the framework and included in tenders. Specific accreditations (e.g. ISO 14001, ISO 50001, EMAS) are assessed but not mandated as fixed requirements.

The Servers, Storage and Solutions Notional Agreement requires suppliers of Digital Infrastructure to:

• Adhere to Procurement England’s (PEL) Sustainable Procurement Policy and Supply Chain Code of Conduct.
• Disclose details of first and second tier supply chain to Electronics Watch (of which Durham University was a founding member in 2015) to ensure supply chain labour conditions can be assessed and assure effective use of public funds.
• To provide relevant information required for scope 3 emissions reporting upon request.

We identified expanding our approach to Sustainable Procurement as a priority in our Annual Report of 2025: see page 33 at Durham University Annual Report 2025 Our Sustainable Procurement Working Group (SPWG) has been meeting regularly during the 2025/26 academic year. In the primary group, the University’s approach to Scope 3 emissions reporting and target setting has been under discussion, with plans in place to broaden our current approach, baselining current procurement emissions and setting clear milestone dates for how we will become more transparent on both our reporting and target setting processes. The next expected output from the group is a scope 3 roadmap, to be published in the first term of the 2026/2027 academic year. With the emissions reporting process on the horizon, the group is set to meet in July to discuss the expansion of scope 3 emissions reporting.

The Fairtrade subgroup is leading work to re-certify the University as a Fairtrade University. Significant work has been undertaken and this has informed gathering of substantial evidence for the relevant criteria. The group continues to document activities and progress, as well as to plan events, campaigns, focus groups, and other initiatives. The certification audit will take place in May 2027.

The purpose of this policy is to outline the University’s position in relation to the management of  sustainable and ethical procurement and its commitment to the
Fairtrade University Award. 

Read the policy: Sustainable Procurement Policy (July 2023)