Environmental requirements for purchasing and procurement
Purchasing and procurement of goods are a priority area in the University’s environmental work. Making purchasing and procurement subject to environmental requirements enables the University to reduce the environmental impact of its activities.
All purchases must be pursuant to current contracts and agreements. These are listed in the University's Contract Database.
Environmental requirements for purchasing (suborders)
Imposing environmental requirements on a procurement does not automatically mean that all products covered by the contract are environmentally sound. On the contrary, within a contract it is often possible to choose ‘environmentally superior’ products. Follow the advice provided on these pages or contact the environmental coordinator by email at miljo@uadm.uu.se for advice or support in this work.
Ecolabelling shows the way
Knowing whether a product is environmentally sound may be difficult. Ecolabelling (environmental labelling) is then a good guide. The most common labels for everyday goods are Bra Miljöval (‘Good Environmental Choice), the Nordic Ecolabel (Svanen, ‘The Swan’), EU Ecolabel, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the Swedish KRAV label, the EU’s labelling for organic farming, Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, TCO Certified (IT products) and the blue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label (for fish and seafood).
The Swedish Consumer Agency provides more information about the various labels.
Environmental advice for specific product groups
Advice on certain product categories is available. Combined with ecolabelling, this can help to make purchasing more environmentally sound.
Environmental requirements in purchasing
Most of the University’s procurements are implemented by, or with the assistance of, the University’s Procurement and Purchase Office. Environmental requirements are, in principle, imposed in all procurements where relevant. Work is under way to establish guidelines for sustainable procurement at the University.
The National Agency for Public Procurement supports the public sector, organisations and companies in environmentally sound and other sustainable procurement.