Identifying strategies & barriers to sustainable procurement at Canadian universities: An exploratory study on information technology (IT) equipment & supplies

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Sustainable procurement (SP) is “procurement that has the most positive environmental, social and economic impacts possible over the entire life cycle” (ISO - ISO 20400:2017 - Sustainable Procurement — Guidance). Although the concept of SP first appeared in the mid-1990s, it is gaining more traction recently as a powerful yet underutilized mechanism for public institutions to address environmental, social, and economic issues stemming from purchasing decisions. The purpose of this study is to address the lack of research on Canadian universities’ sustainable/responsible purchasing of information technology (IT) services and products. The main research question seeks to address the current strategies that Canadian universities have adopted in their SP practices for IT, including the sustainability criteria used for purchases, as well as potential barriers that may limit the advancement of SP practices. This study is exploratory in nature as it qualitatively examines responses from semi-structured interviews with university professionals in procurement, sustainability, and IT roles. The findings suggest that universities in Canada vary in SP strategies and integration in part due to structural, behavioural, and financial barriers; the results align with other scholars’ findings whereby Canadian public institutions are not using meaningful sustainability criteria in the evaluation process of suppliers. As such, recommendations are provided for decision-makers at Canadian universities to advance SP practices and implementation, as well as future research opportunities for academics.