What does sustainable purchasing mean at the University of Saskatchewan? It means:
- Critical evaluation of products, services and processes;
- Moving the university towards procurement decisions that provide the best value; and
- Including total cost of ownership (i.e. cradle to grave) with the lowest environmental and social impacts.
In sustainable purchasing, we often refer to the term "cradle to grave", which refers to accounting for all of the costs and returns present in a product's total lifespan. These include:
- How the products are made,
- What they are made of,
- Where they come from,
- How they will be used, and
- How will they be disposed of.
As a general guideline, refer to the Checklist for Sustainable Purchasing when trying to identify if a product adheres to sustainable standards.
Financial Services also maintains a wiki page on Where to Buy Goods and Services that features some sustainable purchasing options.
USask Supplier Partnerships
The University of Saskatchewan currently maintains supplier partnerships with two organizations who have committed to providing sustainable purchasing options for their products.
Fisher Scientific
Fisher Scientific is a major supplier of scientific equipment and instruments. Their sustainability program helps customers and suppliers protect and preserve the environment while working to reduce carbon emissions.
HBI Office Plus Inc.
HBI Office Plus Inc. is the university's contracted supplier of all office supplies and equipment.
Self-Service Sustainable Purchasing Checklist
For purchasing managers looking to ensure that sustainable purchasing guidelines are followed in their work, the Sustainable Purchasing Checklist provides a list of questions to answer about the product in question.
Sustainable Purchasing Certifications
Many certification bodies exist for sustainable products and there is no single perfect certification. As such, always be sure that if you are pursuing sustainable purchasing certifications that they correspond to the sustainability goals of your group and that they do not result in the 'greenwashing' of your purchasing practices.
A collection of information about the available sustainable purchasing certifications can be found in our Sustainable Purchasing Certifications document.