University maintains Fairtrade status
The University is pleased to announce it has retained its Fairtrade status for the 12th year in a row.
The Fairtrade Foundation first awarded the University Fairtrade status in 2004 in recognition of its commitment to fair trade procurement, awareness-raising and subsequent academic research.
The University has reapplied for and received this status every two years since, demonstrating ever-increasing efforts to further the fair trade agenda.
Ethos of fair trade
Fair trade is about improving livelihoods for producers through them receiving higher prices for their goods, and through providing additional benefits such as a Fairtrade Premium, training programmes, long-term contracts, and pre-financing. Well known approaches to fair trade include the Fairtrade mark, and the World Fair Trade Organisation.
The University strives for fairness in trade and sustainable procurement, meaning that as well as being socially responsible in relation to its own workforce, the University asks its suppliers to demonstrate responsible employment and environmental practices.
It is brilliant to see that the University of Edinburgh has achieved and is now expanding on the goals stated in the previous application, such as the range of Fairtrade products available and used at meetings. The court endorsement of the university’s Fairtrade policy continues to be a great achievement. External collaborations are also fantastic and should be maintained along with the student-staff steering group. The commitment and innovation of the university is clear with your Conflict Minerals Policy and Food Policy with which we are very impressed. Well done - this is excellent work!
Fair trade actions
The University does many things to promote fair trade and sustainable procurement, including:
- Abiding by a Fair Trade Policy, endorsed by the University Court in 2013, which states the University’s contribution to meeting the global poverty challenge
- Selling a range of fair trade products in both ACE and EUSA catering outlets and shops
- Fairtrade tea and coffee served as standard in catered internal meetings
- Running fair trade campaigns on campus to encourage consumption of fair trade products
- Committing to and participating in a range of codes and standards relating to supply chain ethics, including Electronics Watch, the Workers’ Rights Consortium and the APUC Code of Conduct
- Collaborative work between the Procurement Office and the Department for Social Responsibility & Sustainability to ‘procure goods and services in ways that maximise efficiency and effectiveness while minimising social, environmental and other risks’.
What you can do
- Choose to buy fair trade products, and encourage others to do so
- Get involved in fair trade groups, such as EUSA’s Fair Trade Café, the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, the One World Shop and Hadeel crafts.