Ethical Sourcing of Food and Supplies

Heliopolis University | SDG 12 – 2025
 

Purpose and scope

Promote ethical procurement of food, supplies and services, taking account of fair working conditions, environmental impacts and responsible supplier practices. This policy applies to relevant university operations and participants.
 

Policy measures

• Apply ethical sourcing criteria in the purchase and contracting of food, supplies and services.
• Consider labor rights, health and safety, fair treatment, and the prohibition of forced and child labor when assessing suppliers.
• Consider resource use, waste generation, packaging and opportunities for reuse or recycling in procurement decisions.
• Communicate expectations to suppliers, document assessment decisions, and follow up on identified concerns.
• Encourage engagement with local producers and community development where appropriate.

Responsibilities and review

Procurement and the relevant university units coordinate implementation and retain supplier assessments and purchasing records.

Procurement procedures: Procurement specifications should identify material human rights and environmental risks relevant to the goods and services being acquired. The purchasing team should assess supplier information proportionately to risk, including source, labour practices, packaging, product safety and applicable legal requirements. Decisions should take account of quality, cost, availability and sustainability over the product life cycle.

Labour and human rights: Suppliers are expected to respect freedom of association, prevent forced labour and child labour, prohibit discrimination and provide safe and healthy working conditions. The university should communicate these expectations through tenders, supplier communications and relevant agreements, and provide a channel for reporting concerns.

Food and supplies: Purchasing decisions should consider food safety, responsible agricultural production, local sourcing where appropriate, packaging reduction and traceability. A product’s environmental or ethical claim should be supported by credible information; sustainability labels should be checked for their scope and relevance.

Supplier assessment and remediation: Procurement staff should record assessments and material risks, seek clarification when information is missing and agree proportionate corrective actions with suppliers where concerns arise. Serious issues should be escalated through the university’s purchasing and management channels.

Records and monitoring: Maintain relevant specifications, supplier declarations, assessment records, contracts and corrective action records. Periodic review should consider supplier engagement, reported concerns and opportunities to improve sourcing.