Sustainability
  

Sustainable procurement

The University of Nottingham is establishing sustainable procurement procedures and practices. We recognise our responsibility to procure items in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Some examples of this 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)
  • Lab supplies – working with suppliers to return packaging for re-use
  • Stationery – introduced a consolidated catalogue to reduce purchase choice with a greater proportion of recycled products
Postgraduate students studying in the Nottinghaml Geospatial Building, Jubilee campus
 

 

Sourcing food

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

  • Soil Association’s Food for Life Bronze Catering Mark – for using fresh seasonal ingredients sourced from local suppliers, British high welfare meat and commitment to providing meals free of hydrogenated fats and GM ingredients
  • MSC Chain of Custody Standard – 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

Read more about sustainable catering

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
  • 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

Read more about sustainable procurement 

 
 

Sustainability Team

Estate Office, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD

Email: sustainability@nottingham.ac.uk