28 May 2026 - Sustainable Procurement in Higher Education: From Aspiration to Operational Reality
Sustainable Procurement in Higher Education: From Aspiration to Operational Reality
UCISA Sustainability Community
Introduction
Sustainability has rapidly evolved from a peripheral consideration to a strategic imperative across higher education institutions. Universities are increasingly expected to demonstrate environmental responsibility not only through research and teaching, but also through the operational decisions that shape their estates, technology environments, procurement practices, and supply chains.
Within this context, sustainable IT procurement has emerged as a growing area of focus. Institutions are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions, improve environmental accountability, support circular economy principles, and ensure suppliers align with broader sustainability ambitions. Yet despite strong intent across the sector, translating ambition into operational reality remains complex.
These themes were explored during the webinar “Sustainable Procurement: Tackling the Challenges of Greener IT”, hosted by the UCISA Sustainability Community. The session brought together perspectives across IT, procurement, sustainability, and institutional leadership, alongside live audience polling that provided valuable insight into the current maturity, challenges, and priorities shaping sustainable IT procurement within the sector.
The findings reveal a sector that is progressing, but still navigating significant operational, financial, and structural barriers.
The Growing Importance of Sustainable IT Procurement
Technology procurement decisions carry substantial environmental implications. Devices, cloud infrastructure, networking equipment, software services, and data centre operations all contribute to institutional carbon footprints and resource consumption.
Historically, procurement decisions have often prioritised:
- upfront cost,
- operational functionality,
- cybersecurity,
- compliance,
- supplier familiarity,
- and delivery speed.
However, institutions are increasingly recognising that procurement decisions must also account for:
- lifecycle emissions,
- ethical sourcing,
- repairability,
- recycling and disposal,
- energy efficiency,
- supply chain transparency,
- and long-term sustainability impact.
This shift reflects broader societal expectations as well as institutional commitments to net-zero strategies, environmental reporting obligations, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives.
Yet while awareness has grown significantly, operational maturity remains uneven.
Cost Pressures Continue to Dominate Decision-Making
One of the clearest findings from the webinar polling was that financial pressure remains the single greatest barrier to sustainable IT procurement.
When attendees were asked:
“What is the biggest barrier to sustainable IT procurement in your institution?”
the leading response was:
- Budget and cost pressures (29%)
This finding is unsurprising given the wider financial climate affecting higher education institutions. Many universities continue to face:
- constrained budgets,
- inflationary pressures,
- increasing operational costs,
- and competing investment priorities.
Under such conditions, sustainability ambitions can become difficult to operationalise when procurement teams are under pressure to prioritise immediate affordability over longer-term value.
The challenge is particularly complex because sustainable procurement frequently requires institutions to adopt lifecycle thinking rather than short-term purchasing logic.
For example:
- devices with longer usable lifespans may carry higher upfront costs,
- sustainable suppliers may not always represent the cheapest option,
- repairability and circular economy approaches may require process redesign,
- and sustainability evaluation can introduce additional governance and assessment complexity.
As a result, institutions often find themselves balancing environmental responsibility against immediate operational realities.
Importantly, the polling suggests that institutions are not resistant to sustainability itself. Rather, they are struggling with how to reconcile sustainability goals with financial constraints and practical delivery pressures.
Measuring Sustainability Impact Remains a Major Challenge
Closely following budget pressures, respondents identified:
- Difficulty measuring sustainability impact (24%)
This reflects one of the most persistent challenges within sustainable procurement: the lack of consistent, measurable, and operationally useful sustainability data.
Institutions frequently struggle to answer questions such as:
- What is the true lifecycle impact of a device?
- How should embodied carbon be measured?
- How should sustainability outcomes be weighted against cost?
- Which supplier sustainability metrics are meaningful and comparable?
- How can environmental impact be measured consistently across procurement categories?
Without reliable frameworks and measurable indicators, sustainability can become difficult to embed within formal decision-making processes.
The webinar discussion highlighted that many institutions still lack:
- consistent sustainability standards,
- mature reporting frameworks,
- reliable supplier data,
- and internal capability to interpret sustainability evidence effectively.
Interestingly, the poll results showed that:
- lack of supplier transparency scored only 2%
This may suggest that suppliers are increasingly providing sustainability information. However, institutions may still lack the frameworks, confidence, or capability required to interpret and operationalise that data effectively.
The issue, therefore, may no longer simply be access to information. It is increasingly about data quality, comparability, governance, and practical usability.
The Sector is Progressing, But Maturity Remains Limited
A second poll explored institutional maturity by asking attendees:
“How would you describe your institution’s current approach to sustainable IT procurement?”
The results were revealing:
- 56% stated that their institution is making progress but still developing its approach
- Only 4% stated that sustainability is embedded in most procurement decisions
These findings indicate that higher education is currently in a transitional phase.
There is clear momentum and growing awareness across the sector. Sustainability is increasingly entering procurement discussions, governance conversations, and strategic planning processes.
However, most institutions have not yet reached operational maturity.
Several factors contribute to this:
- fragmented ownership structures,
- inconsistent governance,
- varying institutional priorities,
- limited specialist capability,
- evolving sustainability regulations,
- and the complexity of balancing sustainability alongside operational, security, accessibility, and performance requirements.
The findings also revealed that:
- 16% consider sustainability only occasionally,
- 12% stated sustainability is rarely part of procurement discussions,
- and 12% were unsure about their institution’s position.
This variability demonstrates that institutional maturity across the sector remains highly inconsistent.
Some institutions are embedding sustainability strategically, while others remain at the early stages of awareness and exploration.
Sustainable Procurement is Fundamentally a Collaboration Challenge
One of the strongest themes emerging from the webinar discussion was that sustainable procurement cannot be solved by procurement teams alone.
Effective sustainable procurement requires collaboration across:
- IT,
- procurement,
- finance,
- sustainability teams,
- governance bodies,
- operational leadership,
- and suppliers.
This was reflected strongly in the discussion points, which emphasised:
- cross-functional working,
- shared governance,
- strategic leadership engagement,
- and earlier supplier conversations.
Historically, sustainability has often been treated as an additional consideration layered onto existing procurement processes. However, the session reinforced the growing recognition that sustainability must instead become embedded within institutional decision-making itself.
This includes:
- governance structures,
- procurement frameworks,
- supplier evaluation criteria,
- lifecycle planning,
- and operational delivery models.
Importantly, the discussion also highlighted that sustainable procurement should not be framed solely as an environmental issue. It intersects directly with:
- financial resilience,
- operational efficiency,
- reputational risk,
- digital strategy,
- and institutional accountability.
Lifecycle Thinking and the Circular Economy
Perhaps the most significant practical insight from the session emerged from the third poll question:
“Which action do you think would have the biggest positive impact on sustainable IT procurement?”
The leading response was:
- Extending device lifecycle and reuse (24%)
This finding reflects a growing shift toward circular economy thinking within higher education IT operations.
Rather than focusing exclusively on purchasing “greener” products, institutions are increasingly recognising the sustainability value of:
- repair,
- refurbishment,
- reuse,
- improved asset management,
- and extending operational lifespans.
This approach delivers several benefits simultaneously:
- reduced electronic waste,
- lower embodied carbon,
- reduced procurement demand,
- and potentially improved financial efficiency.
The emphasis on lifecycle extension also reflects a pragmatic maturity emerging across the sector. Many institutions recognise that meaningful sustainability progress does not always require large-scale transformational change. Instead, significant impact can often be achieved through operational improvements and behavioural shifts.
The session discussion reinforced this point strongly, with speakers highlighting the importance of:
- starting with achievable actions,
- demonstrating measurable quick wins,
- and building long-term momentum progressively.
Leadership, Governance, and Organisational Culture
While practical actions are essential, the session also highlighted the importance of leadership support and organisational culture.
Sustainable procurement requires institutions to move beyond viewing sustainability as an “add-on” or compliance exercise. Instead, sustainability must become integrated within strategic planning and institutional priorities.
This requires:
- leadership buy-in,
- governance accountability,
- clear ownership,
- measurable objectives,
- and cultural alignment across teams.
Interestingly, only 8% of respondents selected “greater leadership support and strategic direction” as the single biggest positive action area. However, leadership influence appeared indirectly throughout nearly every discussion point raised during the session.
Without executive sponsorship and governance alignment:
- procurement priorities remain fragmented,
- sustainability goals struggle to gain operational traction,
- and short-term financial pressures frequently dominate decision-making.
Leadership therefore remains fundamental, even where attendees may perceive operational actions as more immediately impactful.
The Importance of Shared Practice Across the Sector
A recurring theme throughout the webinar was the value of collaboration and knowledge sharing across the higher education sector.
Participants recognised the importance of:
- shared frameworks,
- reusable templates,
- sector-wide guidance,
- common standards,
- and peer learning.
This reflects a broader challenge facing many institutions: sustainable procurement capability remains unevenly distributed, and many organisations are still building internal expertise.
Collaborative approaches can therefore help institutions:
- reduce duplication,
- accelerate maturity,
- improve consistency,
- and avoid isolated experimentation.
The higher education sector has historically demonstrated strong collaborative capability, and sustainable procurement may represent another area where collective approaches could significantly accelerate progress.
Reflections on the Sector’s Direction
The webinar highlighted a sector that is increasingly committed to sustainable IT procurement, yet still navigating the practical realities of implementation.
Institutions are clearly moving beyond sustainability as a theoretical aspiration. There is growing recognition that procurement decisions must account for lifecycle impact, supplier accountability, operational sustainability, and long-term environmental responsibility.
However, the findings also demonstrate that significant challenges remain:
- financial pressures,
- limited measurement capability,
- inconsistent maturity,
- fragmented governance,
- and competing operational priorities.
Perhaps most importantly, the discussion reinforced that sustainable procurement is not simply about buying greener technology. It is about fundamentally rethinking how institutions define value, manage assets, engage suppliers, and embed sustainability into operational decision-making.
Progress is unlikely to come from a single transformational initiative. Instead, meaningful change will emerge through:
- practical action,
- cross-functional collaboration,
- shared learning,
- realistic goals,
- and sustained institutional commitment over time.
The sector appears to be moving in the right direction. The challenge now is converting momentum into embedded, measurable, and operationally sustainable practice.
Driving Collective Action Across the Sector
A wider and equally important discussion emerging from the webinar is the critical role the UCISA Sustainability Community can play in supporting the sector’s next stage of maturity. While institutions continue to face shared challenges around cost pressures, measurement capability, governance, supplier engagement, and operational delivery, there is clear value in strengthening collaboration, shared practice, and collective learning across higher education.
The discussions reinforced that sustainable IT procurement is not a challenge institutions are likely to solve in isolation. Many of the barriers identified are systemic across the sector, including inconsistent frameworks, varying levels of organisational maturity, limited internal capability, and the ongoing challenge of balancing sustainability ambitions with financial and operational realities.
In response to the themes identified during the webinar, the UCISA Sustainability Community will continue working with the sector to explore practical approaches that help embed sustainability more effectively within procurement and operational decision-making. This includes encouraging knowledge sharing, promoting reusable approaches and frameworks, supporting peer learning, and creating opportunities for institutions to share experiences, lessons learned, and emerging good practice.
As momentum in this area continues to grow, there is also an opportunity to broaden engagement across the higher education community.
The UCISA Sustainability Community welcomes participation from professionals across IT, procurement, sustainability, governance, finance, and digital leadership who are interested in contributing to future discussions, collaborative initiatives, and the continued development of sustainable technology practices within the sector. Those interested can contact community@ucisa.ac.uk or request access to the UCISA Sustainability Community Teams site via the UCISA Community Sites - Request to Join form.
Ultimately, sustainable procurement represents not only an environmental priority, but also an opportunity for higher education to demonstrate collective leadership, operational responsibility, and long-term strategic thinking. The challenge now is to convert growing awareness into consistent, measurable, and sustainable action across the sector.
