Sustainable Procurement Policy | Asia Pacific University (APU)

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Sustainable Procurement Policy

Revision 2 - Oct 2023

PROCUREMENT POLICY:

Sustainable Procurement is a process that integrates environmental, governance and social factors of corporate responsibility in procurement processes and decision making, while ensuring they meet the stakeholder requirement. It is also referred to as environmentally preferred purchasing, green procurement, affirmative procurement, eco-procurement, and environmentally responsible purchasing. The purpose of this policy is to outline how the University will achieve its strategic sustainability aims through its procurement activities.

PROCUREMENT GOALS:

To improve the sustainability impact of our procurement by purchasing goods and services that advance the achievement of APU’s sustainability goals, purchasing from manufacturers and suppliers who share our commitment to sustainability and leveraging the buying power of APU to incentivize others to work towards our standards.

RESPONSIBILITY:

All University contracted and sub-contracted services shall adhere to this policy. This policy is applicable to all goods, services, works (including construction) and utilities purchased by the University and is the responsibility of all employees involved in the process.

APU APPROACH:

  1. We will ensure there is sufficient knowledge and capacity in their respective Services to deliver the requirements of the standard and facilitate progress across all those included in the process.
  2. We will facilitate the delivery of sustainable procurement through the category management process, including tendering activity, contract management and value tracking, seeking continuous improvement where possible.
  3. We will encourage new and existing suppliers to consider and improve the social and environmental impacts of their services and activities by providing appropriate tools.
  4. We will consider how we can support the circular economy through our procurement and purchasing decisions.
  5. We will make appropriate training available to all staff including procurement specialists, buyers and others involved in purchasing decisions.

POLICY AIMS:

The University requires its staff, students, partners and suppliers to:

  1. Eliminate the linear consumption of non-replaceable natural resources by reviewing current and proposed future usage and evaluating the pros and cons of alternatives from a life cycle lens,
  2. Identify sustainable procurement priorities and incorporate into the category management process, adapted to each category as appropriate,
  3. Eliminate waste, including: any packaging, waste produced by the product or service, and waste generated by the eventual disposal of the product,
  4. Optimize the use of natural resources and cease, or where this is not possible, minimize the use of plastic and disposable items,
  5. For materials that cannot be otherwise avoided or eliminated, maximize their re-circulation within APU in such a way that maximizes their value through reuse, repair, re-manufacturing, recycling and composting,
  6. Engage with suppliers to ensure they understand our sustainable procurement requirements, collaborate to find innovative solutions, and ensure they meet comparable appropriate standards within their own supply chain,
  7. Seek continuous improvement and innovation about sustainable procurement.

Every successful organiation depends on having a well-developed purchasing process to source all necessary products and services at the best price.

The University will continuously monitor and report annually on the performance measures and seek to improve the way we measure the impact of our procurement activities including carbon emissions and social value and will focus these efforts on high value, high impact and/or high-risk commodities.

TOGETHER Towards Sustainable Communities:

  • Sustainability @ APU – click HERE
  • APU Energy Conservation Program – click HERE
  • APU Water Conservation Program – click HERE
  • APU Recycling Program – click HERE
  • APU Transportation Policy – click HERE
  • APU Life on Land Conservation – click HERE
  • APU Environment and Climate Change Policy – click HERE
  • APU Sustainable Investment Policy – click HERE
  • APU Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Policy – click HERE
  • Corporate Social Responsibility @ APU – click HERE
  • ESG & Sustainability Events – Activities @ APU – click HERE