Forging a Name for Sustainable Purchasing at the College

Last summer, I (Stella Dunham ‘26) embarked on a somewhat vague, amorphous project: bringing Sustainable Purchasing to Williams College. As the college only conducts centralized purchasing for select products, and since the small group of staff working on procurement the finance office mainly focus on vendor contracts and p-cards without really integrating sustainability into their lens, departments on campus don’t receive much information about how to purchase ethically or sustainably. Thus, a main goal in the project was to conduct research and draft documentation that could be used as educational tools for departmental purchasing staff, as well as to work with vendors to create Williams-specific website interfaces that encourage sustainable purchasing.

wb mason copy paper
WB Mason Recycled Copy Paper

While sustainable purchasing is a practice that describes the conscious, environmentally-informed acquisition of any product or item, I focused my work on investigating office supply products–like copy paper, toner cartridges, and pens–which are bought regularly by all departments on campus, as a starting point that could inform future conversations targeting other product types: cleaning supplies, tech, furniture, etc. I also conducted research about sustainable or environmentally preferable purchasing options from different Williams-sanctioned office supply vendors (WB Mason, Amazon, and Staples) in order to create documentation and tips for staff making purchasing decisions for their respective departments. 

This research stage taught me a lot of valuable information about how Williams’ departments use office supply vendors (very differently!), and how the three vendors measure sustainability in their products (very confusingly!). As a result, I was able to develop basic sustainable purchasing guidelines (e.g., it’s better to buy in bulk when you can; keep departmental records of what and when you purchase; etc.) and was able to create product recommendations to combat the less robust sustainability claims made by certain vendors. However, this research also opened up a minefield of further questions directed at our own institution, for example:

 

  • Why doesn’t Williams have a formal contract with WB Mason?
  • Where do we purchase toner cartridges?
  • Why doesn’t Williams invest in suitable storage for its departments to reduce the risk of product damage occurring in unconditioned spaces?
  • Williams once had a Central Office Purchasing program; why was it discontinued?

 

Perhaps some of these questions seem inconsequential, but they open up important discussions that have refocused the project as a whole from investigating office supply purchasing toward thinking critically about the relationships Williams maintains with its vendors, the higher level choices made to conduct procurement, and the ways that Williams has previously made its environment more conducive to sustainable purchasing. 

Much of my work so far has focused on compiling information and resources to present to Williams departments, as well as revising external vendor structures. For one of my current projects, I’m facilitating the implementation of Guided Buying into the college’s purchases through Amazon, an initiative that will allow purchasing staff at the college to easily identify sustainable products. However, there are avenues for current and future work to more directly address purchasing institution-wide at Williams. While the inner workings of the college, especially in this topic, are often nebulous and confusing, it will be important to prioritize working toward internal changes, such as developing formal contracts with vendors and investing in resources to support different departments, in order to effectively address sustainable purchasing futures at the college.

 

Written by Stella Dunham ’26, ZCE Sustainable Purchasing Intern