Green Gown Awards 2014 - Research and Development - University of the West of England - HC

Developing the CIPS Sustainability Index (CSI)

The University of the West of England (UWE), with its partners the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and PRGX, have taken an original idea and through sound academic research and ongoing development and refinement have created an independent index that allows suppliers to obtain a score of their social, economic and environmental sustainability credentials.

Following a pilot phase during the second half of 2013 it has now over 100 participating buying organisations, over 750 registered suppliers and has a first year revenue projection of £500,000. In addition, it has been launched in Ireland and will be launched in the USA and Australia early in 2015.

Resulting supplier scores are already changing behaviour within the areas they are identified as in the lower quartile of their peers amongst many of the participating suppliers as well as proving the basis for a six monthly CIPS Sustainability Review published globally.

Top 3 learnings

1 Treat any ‘roadblocks’ you encounter within your institution as a challenge to be overcome not a reason to abandon your project
2 Choose your partners carefully and take time to understand their culture, structure and what will work for them in terms of desired outcomes
3 Not all suppliers / organisations are the same. We developed differing question sets, marking schema, advice for large, small and micro businesses.

What the judges say ...

The development and deployment of this sustainability index is improving procurement and
engagine supply chains. It is already being used by major blue chips and has real scaleability.

What it means to win ...

“At UWE Bristol we are committed to achieving our vision of being recognised as one of the
most sustainable universities in the country. To win a prestigious award in this category is further acknowledgement by our peers of how our groundbreaking interdisciplinary teaching and learning and research are supporting the national sustainability agenda.”

Professor Steve West, Vice-Chancellor

Videos

• Developing the CIPS Sustainability Index (CSI) (click to hide)