Positive procurement

We know that sustainable procurement is a powerful tool we can use to create social, cultural and environmental benefits. This is why we’re committed to making thoughtful, intentional decisions when it comes to the way we procure.

Ultimately, we want to live in a world full of suppliers and products we are proud of.

Check out how and what we buy and who we use and why.

We’re constantly on the move towards creating a world we are proud of. In practice this means:

• Working with our supply chain to ensure goods and services align with our values.

• We pay the Living Wage and encourage our suppliers and service providers to do the same. 

• The majority of our IT equipment is refurbished e-waste. We’ve even managed to kit out most of the office space with preloved items from clients.

• The main insulation we use, supplied by Mammoth and the ground vapour barrier kits we install and sell are made in NZ from recycled PET.  Mammoth takes back our insulation offcuts to be remade into new insulation.

• Electrifying our fleet - we’ve got three EV cars, seven hybrids, plus an e-bike. As we replace cars we will only purchase EVs and we are keeping a close eye on the EV market so that we can replace our diesel vans once they have got the range we need.

• We keep our fleet size down by using MEVO to add capacity when needed.

• Our office milk delivery comes in refillable glass bottles from Eketahuna Country Meats.  

• Having solar panels as a source for some of our electricity.

• Using LED lighting on our premises.   

• Making sure that all our coffee, tea, and sugar is all Fairtrade. We refill our coffee container at Peoples Coffee. We supply loose tea and only tea bags that are free of plastic. 

• The majority of our uniforms are from Little Yellow Bird because they’re 100% Fairtrade cotton and can be returned to LYB for recycling.  

• Our heavy-duty overalls supplied by Alsco are commercially washed and reused.   

• We provide reusable dust masks and we’ve also invested in good quality, long-lasting PPE.

• Where we use batteries, we only use rechargeable ones.

• Alsco supply washable 100% cotton tea towels/hand towels and dishcloths.

• Our hand towels are compostable and go in our food waste collection.

• We make the most of our Will & Able refill station for topping up our cleaning products.

• We give our staff the information they need to make an informed choice about who they choose as their Kiwi Saver provider. We encourage staff to choose providers that are aligned with our organisational values.