Sustainable Purchasing Guide

Sustainable purchasing evaluates goods and services in a broader context that goes beyond costs. Sustainable purchasing is about:

• Planning for a product’s life cycle, all the way from sourcing to disposal.
• Maximizing value (quality, price, service, innovation) 
• Minimizing negative impacts (social/human health/environmental)

The first step in sustainable purchasing — think before you buy:

• Is the product/service absolutely necessary? 
• Can it be obtained used, borrowed, or shared with others to save costs?
• If it is a product, can it be reused, recycled, or disposed of sustainably?
• How long will it last before disposal? 
  • Are there alternative choices which can be repaired/refurbished for longer use?
• Will there be significant negative environmental impacts from the use of the product over its life cycle?

Since 1997, when UBC became the first Canadian university to adopt a sustainable development policy, UBC has worked to integrate economic, social and environmental sustainability into university culture. We realize that all goods and services create social and environmental impacts throughout their lifecycles, from employment and local development to resource depletion and waste. We believe embracing sustainable purchasing in our everyday lives will advance sustainable development, and the benefits will extend beyond UBC and the local community.

Reducing waste, fostering a culture of reuse, and making sustainable purchasing decisions are also important components of UBC's Zero Waste Action Plan targets and 20-Year Sustainability Strategy goals. 

Environmental

• Supports energy and water conservation and waste reduction.
• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
• Reduces pollutants and toxins released into the atmosphere, soil and water.

Economic

• Stimulates a robust local economy by supporting local suppliers.
• Reduces transportation and waste disposal costs.
• Fosters innovation, as more organizations demand and seek sustainable alternatives.
• By reducing, reusing and purchasing sustainably, we can reduce UBC’s mandated carbon offset costs.

Social

• Supports international labour standards and the ethical treatment of workers worldwide.
• Promotes worker safety, health and wellness.
• Encourages the development of local and Indigenous enterprises.

UBC Supplier Code of Conduct

• The Financial Operations Supplier Code of Conduct (SCC) sets the ethical performance expectations for suppliers of goods, services or equipment. The goal of the SCC is to ensure safe and healthy workplaces for the people who manufacture products for UBC, where human and civil rights conditions comply with the core labour conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Supplier Engagement

• UBC collaborates with and encourages suppliers to implement sustainable procurement throughout their supply chain, from sourcing to disposal.
• Major suppliers responding to a UBC request for proposal (RFP) must demonstrate their organizational sustainability leadership in energy and emissions, materials and waste, water, and supplier engagement. These areas may account for 10 per cent (or more) of an RFP's evaluation criteria. UBC is also conducting a pilot project to evaluate the sustainable practices of major suppliers after they are awarded a contract.

Fair Trade

• In 2011, UBC was designated as the first Fair Trade Campus in Canada. The designation from Fairtrade Canada recognizes UBC for its national leadership in Fairtrade purchasing. UBC buys coffee, tea, chocolate and tropical fruit from producers that guarantee high social, environmental and pay standards for farmers and workers.

Reuse and Recycling Programs

• Reuse-it! UBC facilitates the reuse of goods between campus departments, to reduce the quantity of reusable items entering the waste stream and provide alternative to buying new.
• UBC's Recyclepedia provides an A-Z listing of what can be recycled or composted on campus, and how to recycle items.

When purchasing goods, it is important to consider more than an item's upfront cost. Although upfront costs may initially appear to be high, sustainable purchases often cost less than conventional products when the total cost of ownership is taken into account. Sustainable purchases assess the costs associated with an item over its lifetime, including its disposal, operation, transportation, packaging, manufacturing, and design.

The total cost of sustainable products may be less than conventional products in many instances when you consider long-term cost savings (e.g. less energy to operate a more efficient product) and cost avoidance (e.g. reduced waste disposal costs). Combined with strategies to reduce product use (e.g. printing less), green products and practices can save on costs.

You can evaluate your purchasing decision by creating a chart like the one below:

 Source: Small Business Computing

An easy way to find sustainable alternatives is to look for green product labels and third party certifications when purchasing. These labels are symbols that indicate a product has been certified to a specific environmental standard. Product certification labels can also help consumers to combat “greenwashing”.

Refer to this list of some key labels and certifications when making purchasing decisions.

• UBC List of Suppliers
• Reuse-it! UBC
• Recyclepedia
• UBC Fair Trade