Why Sustainable Purchasing Matters

Available tools to incorporate sustainability into your purchasing decisions.

All purchases that ASU employees make — office supplies, welcome gifts, promotional items, scientific materials — affect ASU’s environmental footprint. The pressure to purchase items quickly often leads us to use familiar suppliers and large corporations. 

To incorporate sustainability in our purchasing, consider the item’s purpose and long-term value. Employees often buy giveaway items like T-shirts, notebooks, and sunglasses for events, which serve as mementos and help connect us to the ASU community. But many are low-quality, disposable and environmentally harmful. 

Instead, we can choose giveaway items using the Sustainable Purchasing Guidelines to support ASU’s sustainability goals and create lasting memories, not landfill waste.

Amanda Parks, director of marketing operations, Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, encourages her team to question whether these purchases are necessary. 

“As a marketing manager, I understand how promotional swag can foster brand affinity,” said Parks. “But we also ask ourselves — does this item serve a meaningful purpose? Could we achieve the same goal with something nonmaterial, like an experience or consumable gift?”

Consider the following when selecting giveaways:

• Can we achieve our goal with a nonmaterial or consumable item, such as food or digital gifts?
• How will the product provide long-term value?
• If a physical item is necessary, is it reusable, relevant and genuinely useful?

• If you use ASU’s name or logo, have you consulted the licensee search tool to find a vendor that ASU has vetted for fair labor best practices? 

  Employees can find approved vendors within Workday when they submit a purchasing request.

• If the item features a logo, does it effectively showcase the Sun Devil spirit and build affinity for ASU?
• What is the intended purpose of this item, and how does it enhance the recipient’s experience?

At ASU’s Hispanic Celebration, traditional papel picado banners are a common sight but are often made of flimsy paper and disposed of after one use. 

Instead of purchasing a single-use banner each year, Marissa Tuchalski, events manager, Office of University Events and Protocol and Office of University Ceremonies, partnered with the ASU Print and Imaging Lab and the Enterprise Brand Strategy and Management team to create a reusable ASU-branded version. 

The stunning banner reduces waste while enhancing the ceremony. It highlights how choosing sustainability enhances an event while advancing ASU’s sustainability goals.

If you have purchased an item with an ASU logo or trademark, you have likely worked with the university’s licensing team. A common misconception is that ASU’s licensing requirements limit purchasing options. However, Monica Middendorf, associate director of trademark licensing at Auxiliary Business Services, says licensing helps support sustainability standards by working with vendors to provide sustainable options and require ethical labor practices.

“When vendors become licensed through the Collegiate Licensing Company, they must meet ASU’s standards for graphic compliance, ethical business practices and adherence to the Fair Labor Association Code of Conduct,” said Middendorf. “Working with ASU’s licensed vendors ensures promotional purchases align with these ethical standards.”

The Fair Labor Association holds companies accountable for their labor rights commitments by evaluating business practices through high international standards for global supply chains. As part of the accreditation process, FLA conducts yearly audits to ensure that businesses maintain compliance with international human rights standards. Visit the Fair Labor Accreditation website to learn more about the FLA accreditation process.

ASU’s licensing team also works to reduce single-use plastics and goods made primarily from fossil fuel-based chemicals. When suppliers submit new branded products made from single-use plastics, the licensing team encourages the supplier to resubmit with an alternative product made from organic, recycled or upcycled materials, which are more ideal. 

Some say the most sustainable choice is not to purchase goods at all. But this is impractical. Our purchases can be sustainable, support our community and meet our educational and business needs.

ASU’s sustainable purchasing team developed the Sustainable Purchasing Guidelines to assist employees in determining sustainable product features and materials.

These guidelines apply to product categories, such as: 

• Appliances
• Catering
• Cleaning
• Event décor
• Furniture
• Office supplies
• Promotional items
• IT hardware
• Transportation

The sustainable purchasing team evaluates the environmental impact, eco-certifications, packaging, and product qualities, such as reusable or refillable. They also collaborate with suppliers to highlight sustainable products as the top search results in the catalog.

For example, all cleaning and janitorial paper products should carry one or more of the following certifications: 

• Forest Stewardship Council.
• Green Seal.
• UL ECOLOGO.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safer Choice.

These certifications guarantee that the paper meets industry standards for sustainable forestry and recycling, ensuring it comes from responsibly managed forests or recycled materials and is free of toxic chemicals.

Certain large dollar purchases have mandated sustainability requirements. For example, ASU policy PUR 211 requires purchased vehicles to be battery-electric. For purchases under $10,000 — 75% of all purchases ASU employees make — employees are responsible for choosing the most sustainable option. Use the Sustainable Purchasing Guidelines to verify that purchases meet ASU’s criteria.

ASU’s sustainable purchasing team offers one-on-one and team consulting sustainable purchasing workshops. Email University Sustainability Practices to schedule a workshop.

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a new series about sustainable purchasing at ASU. Topics will cover sustainable purchasing best practices, feature our suppliers’ sustainable products and showcase resources available to support staff and students in purchasing sustainably.