How to do business with the Office for Students

Key points:

• We are committed to increasing the proportion of our sustainable procurement by March 2030.
• All procurements valued at or above £2 million (including VAT) will be in scope of this plan.
• Procurement is regarded as sustainable if it complies with the minimum Government Buying Standards (GBS) and any successor standards, and has at least four of the characteristics described in Annex A.

Our activity under this plan will focus on areas where procurement decisions can meaningfully reduce carbon emissions, minimise waste, support resource efficiency and promote responsible supply chain practices.

The priority topics include reducing the use of single‑use items, promoting circular economy principles, increasing supplier compliance with the GBS, addressing supply chain emissions, and improving resilience to climate‑related risks across key categories.

We will assess procurement categories to identify those with disproportionately high environmental or social impacts, such as ICT equipment, travel, and facilities management. This understanding will help us prioritise interventions, apply proportional sustainability requirements, and focus resources where they will deliver the greatest impact.

We will develop and maintain sustainable procurement guidance tailored to spend categories. This guidance will outline minimum requirements, recommended best practice, and category‑specific sustainability considerations, ensuring consistency and supporting staff to make informed decisions.

We will actively engage with suppliers to encourage innovation, share expectations, and identify opportunities to improve sustainability performance. Engagement activities may include market warming, supplier briefings, early market engagement sessions, and the provision of guidance to help suppliers understand our requirements.

We will work with key suppliers to agree tailored sustainability improvement actions based on contract‑specific risks, opportunities and performance levels. This includes setting improvement targets, monitoring key risk indicators, working with suppliers to implement corrective actions, and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory obligations. We will monitor progress through ongoing contract management.

Our procurement team will build capability and confidence to increase sustainability impacts through procurement activity and will work with key business leads to increase understanding of sustainability impacts and how to remove barriers and achieve more sustainable outcomes in contracts.

We will include sustainable procurement in the induction programme for all staff. We will include more focused training on sustainability impacts and mitigation in the induction of procurement staff and contract managers.

We will ensure that, during procurement activity, appropriate specifications are used, including compliance with the GBS for the categories they cover, and that specifications and tender documentation include at least four of the characteristics described in Annex A.

All contracts are tiered at the commencement of procurement activity which will ensure that future highest (gold) and second (silver) tier contracts will enact appropriate and proportionate sustainability measures. Contract tiering is based on risk, value and strategic importance, ensuring that sustainability interventions are proportionate, targeted and achievable. The tiering is completed using the central government contract management tiering tool.

We will ensure that, during contract management, the required specification, contract requirements and GBS are adhered to by the contracted supplier. Sustainability performance will be routinely reviewed as part of contract management, with corrective actions agreed where standards are not met.

We will ensure GBS best practice is being met and can be tracked by incorporating checks into the OfS procurement process. Our procurement team will also act as a gateway to check appropriate sustainability requirements are met prior to approval of all purchase orders.

This plan will be reviewed annually and published on our website.

Key points:

• These commitments apply to all new, renegotiated and reprocured contracts from 1 April 2026.
• Contracts do not need to be renegotiated or reprocured solely for these commitments.

We will reduce the procurement of single-use items. Single-use items are those designed only to be used once before being discarded. This includes items such as plastic, wooden or biodegradable cutlery and crockery, bottles, packaging and some items of stationery. There are circumstances, particularly for health and safety or operational reasons, where there is not a cost-effective alternative to a single-use item, and in these circumstances we will exercise our judgement in deciding what is proportionate and appropriate for us to focus on reducing.

We will ensure that all procurement activity aligns with the Government Buying Standards (GBS) and any successor standards. GBS currently applies to cleaning products and services, electrical goods, furniture, horticulture and park services, office ICT equipment, paper and paper products, textiles, transport (vehicles), construction projects and buildings, water-using products, food and catering services. We shall ensure that during procurement of any of these categories that appropriate specifications and standards are adhered to by the chosen supplier.

From 1 April 2026, all new highest-tier (gold) contracts will enact appropriate and proportionate sustainability measures, and all existing ones will do so by March 2030. We will determine what sustainability measures are appropriate and proportionate for each contract. This should include at least four of the characteristics described in Annex A and meet the minimum GBS.

From 1 April 2027, all new second-tier (silver) contracts will enact appropriate and proportionate sustainability measures, and all existing ones will do so by March 2030. We will determine what sustainability measures are appropriate and proportionate for each contract. This should include at least four of the characteristics described in Annex A and meet the minimum GBS.

We will report to Defra (via DfE) quarterly:

• whether we have a sustainable procurement plan and when it was last reviewed;
• whether we have published this plan externally.

We will report to Defra (via DfE) annually:

• how we have reduced the procurement of single-use items;
• whether we have met the minimum GBS when buying goods and services;
• the number and total spend of procurements valued at or above £2 million with at least four sustainable procurement characteristics, and the total number and spend of procurements valued at or above £2 million;
• the number of new or re-procured highest- and second-tier contracts and how many have enacted appropriate and proportionate sustainability measures;
• the results of a sustainable procurement maturity questionnaire.

Specifications which avoid or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, referencing high integrity principles and standards, using industry best practice and going beyond those required by the minimum GBS.

Contractual targets for residual emissions to reduce GHG emissions and incentivise supplier action.

Circular principles or requirements in specifications to reduce demand for finite resources, maximise reuse value and minimise waste.

Requests that suppliers identify climate change risks and impacts in relation to the requirement being procured, and outline plans to ensure service continuity and resilience.

Weighted sustainability questions in tender documentation (in addition to those for social value).

Best practice sustainability terms and conditions in contracts (separate to GHG or carbon).

Sustainability action plans (in addition to social value) to address key risks and opportunities in contracts.

Requirements for suppliers to share in the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050.