Thompson Rivers University

Sustainable Purchasing Guide & High Impact Procurement Opportunities List and Sustainability Factsheets

 

Reeve Consulting worked with Thompson Rivers University (TRU) to develop a Sustainable Purchasing Guide and High Impact Procurement Opportunities (HIPO) List.

The Guide directly supports TRU’s Campus Strategic Sustainability Plan by providing staff across its three campuses with guidance on how to include sustainability within standard procurement processes and departmental operations.

This Guide is organized by procurement type, from direct procurements with purchasing cards to requests for proposals (RFPs), and a simple set of steps for each procurement type. It also contains the following tools:

  • Risk and Opportunity Assessment Checklist
  • Supplier Leadership Questionnaire
  • Life Cycle Analysis Assessment Tool
  • Total Cost of Ownership Worksheet

This deliverable was then presented to TRU’s Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee, alongside a communications plan.

In Phase 2 of this project, Reeve brought together stakeholders to decide on where sustainable procurement should be applied in the upcoming contracting and low-value purchasing schedule. Informed by departmental interviews and a workshop, the High Impact Procurement Opportunities (HIPO) List identified:

  • Categories with high spend and/or high potential for environmental and social impact
  • Categories in which contracts are up for tendering, renewal, or renegotiation in the near term
  • Categories where there is market readiness to provide more sustainable alternatives

In addition, Reeve developed 5 Sustainability Factsheets on specific product categories—from professional services to electric machines, catering and more. These Factsheets were distributed

to the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee and staff across the university to support more sustainable decentralized purchasing.

 

“This project has generated more focus and momentum for the next level of sustainable procurement across all departments of TRU. This was a very significant opportunity to come together to learn what each other has done and what they aspire to implement next. We came out of the project with clear successes to share and tools to engage the campus to take action in key categories.” – Jim Gudjonson, Director of the Office of Environment and Sustainability