HKUST Sustainability 39 Environment Social and Governance Report 2021-22 Procurement Safeguards the Pursuit of Future-Fitness Anticipate the Negative Impacts that Its Procured Goods and Services could be Contributing To The key component of HKUST’s strategy towards waste reduction goal is recycling at the end of each product’s life and effectively disposing hazardous materials under regulatory control. However, studies into electronic burn stacks in developing nations show that occasionally improper recycling practices can cause further environmental harm. Therefore, the University commits to dealing with recycled materials in an environmentally responsible way throughout the process. For electronics, HKUST partners with ALBA to collect old electrical appliances due to ALBA’s reputation for its remarkable and transparent record for materials recovery. Food waste is delivered to O-Park, a government-supervised facility, where it will be recycled into biogas and compost using anaerobic digestion and composting technology. Most appliances and equipment purchased for the University are evaluated in terms of their energy efficiency through the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) of the Hong Kong Government. On the other hand, HKUST employs TCO Certified, a global third-party sustainability certification, for personal IT equipment to assess the drawbacks that may arise from IT equipment purchases. Procurement Guidelines As stated in the HKUST Sustainability Office Guidelines, HKUST encourages the purchasing of appliances that have Energy Label Grade One and water appliances that achieve “Water Sense” conservation criteria. Additionally, HKUST advises departments to buy in bulk to reduce packaging costs and select environmentally friendly office supplies to promote the sustainable use of materials. HKUST also has precautionary measures for negative impacts in sustainability performance evaluation. We require tenderers to include sustainability elements and preferences to have a better understanding of each contractor’s commitment to sustainable practices. Preference will be given to tenderers who are evident in promoting environmental sustainability in their tender submissions.
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