Gloves are off: LUPC factory audit improves working conditions
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WINTER 2018/19 The magazine for LUPC Members and Suppliers
Gloves are off: LUPC factory audit
improves working conditions
STUDENT MENTAL CASE STUDY: AIR POLLUTION:
ILL HEALTH:
Dressed for success Logistics companies
Legal obligations at the University respond to the
on education of Exeter Ultra Low Emission
institutions Zone
CONTENTS FOLLOW @LUPCONSORTIUM
Welcome 3
News 4-5
Commodity updates 6-8
Electronics Watch update 9
Malaysian Glove Factory Audit: outcomes and future learning 10-12
Student Mental Ill-Health: Legal implications on education institutions 13
Case Study: Graduation Attire Limited revamps the University of Exeter’s graduation ceremonies 14
Water recycling in the paper industry 15
Air pollution: Logistics companies and their responsibility to reduce emissions 16
Let’s Talk… to Queen Mary, University of London’s Bahar Shahin 18
Focus On: LUPC Member Spend 2017-18: HE Consortia Framework Agreements 19
MEET THE TEAM
Don Bowman Acting Director Suzanne Picken Head of Membership & Marketing
Tel: 020 7307 2769 Tel: 020 7307 2776
Email: d.bowman@lupc.ac.uk Email: s.picken@lupc.ac.uk
Management of contracting team and procurement Membership; marketing agreements and services;
programme. General consortium direction and training; Conference and events; LUPC website;
management of Ensemble Purchasing. publications.
Darran Whatley Senior Contracts Manager Joyce Kadri Contracts Officer
Tel: 020 7307 2764 Tel: 020 7307 2763
Email: d.whatley@lupc.ac.uk Email: j.kadri@lupc.ac.uk
StemEd and Lab, including IRLA, lab equipment, Portable appliance testing; signs and signage; taxis;
consumables, microscopes, lasers, PPE and veterinary travel; promotional products; removals and relocations;
supplies; AV; furniture; soft furnishings; paper; professional services including ceremonial gown and
photography; cash and valuables in transit; audit
photographic; travel; vehicle hire; utilities.
services; childcare vouchers; recruitment advertising.
Mike Kilner Senior Contracts Manager Teele Jõeleht Systems Manager & Data Analyst
Tel: 020 7307 2768 Tel: 020 7307 2770
Email: m.kilner@lupc.ac.uk Email: t.joeleht@lupc.ac.uk
IT hardware and software; insurance; white goods; Systems management and development; collection,
telecommunications; electronics; laboratory gases; analysis and reporting of Member
electricals. and supplier data.
Cristian Martin Senior Contracts Manager Caroline Ford Office Manager
Tel: 020 7307 2771 Tel: 020 7307 2762
Email: c.martin@lupc.ac.uk Email: c.ford@lupc.ac.uk
Library; professional services (including legal, debt Accounts, general enquiries and administration.
collection, occupational health, temp staff and global
mobility); post; office supplies.
Sam Randhawa Senior Contracts Manager
Tel: 020 7307 2772 Marisol Bernal Responsible Procurement Officer
Email: s.randhawa@lupc.ac.uk Tel: 020 7307 2765
Email: m.bernal@lupc.ac.uk
Estates maintenance and minor works; cleaning;
security; waste management; outsourced catering; Developing responsible procurement competencies
catering consultancy. through study and hands on experience, undertaking
tasks and projects.
Jim Biggin Graduate Procurement Officer
Tel: 020 7307 2778 LUPC
Email: j.biggin@lupc.ac.uk : 020 7307 2760
Developing general procurement, membership and
data analysis competencies across all categories, : enquiries@lupc.ac.uk
alongside team members. LUPC, Shropshire House,
179 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7NZ
LINKED is printed on 100% Recycled Offset paper
2 London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 lupc.ac.uk
WELCOME
Ringing in the changes for 2019
Welcome to the first Linked magazine for Members are procurement professionals, drawn from and
2019 and a Happy New Year to you all, in democratically elected by the Membership and meet four times
what promises to be a busy year ahead. annually. They set the consortium’s operational priorities and
decide on sourcing strategies for the goods and services made
This is my first Linked introduction since available through our agreements. A Member’s dedicated
I was appointed to the permanent Executive Committee Member will be able to provide the
Director role in December. I would like Member with greater input to LUPC’s operations and to ensure
to thank you for your support while I their voice is heard.
was acting Director and look forward to
Don Bowman working with you all in the future. There We are also eagerly awaiting the final outcome of our
LUPC Director have been a number of other staffing re-assessment for working to the ISO20400 Sustainable
changes at LUPC, the full details can be Procurement standard, we are hoping to have some good news
seen in the news section on page 4. on our progress from our initial assessment in 2017.
As you may be aware, LUPC has added a few new Members I hope to see most of you at the LUPC and SUPC Annual
recently, we are now up to an impressive 86 full Members, Conference on 16th May 2019, yet again being held at the
continuing our steady growth, and allowing us to invest to deliver magnificent County Hall venue, full details of this event including
further benefits for our existing Members. Whilst this is good for booking will be available by the end of January. The Conference
the consortium and our Members, it does make it more difficult is just one of the areas we work closely with SUPC on and more
to ensure all of our Members have input into how we operate and areas will become evident in the next few months.
have their needs met.
Please ensure you check our website for upcoming events in
Because of this, we are embarking on an ambitious Member 2019, from new member inductions, to category specific events.
Engagement plan in the next few months, to ensure that all
Members feel represented; by having a named contact on the
Executive Committee assigned to them, as well as a dedicated Don Bowman
LUPC staff member to contact. LUPC’s Executive Committee January 2019
Helping you
draw the right conclusions
Experienced lawyers for the higher
and further education and charities sectors
Eversheds Sutherland was appointed to the London Universities Purchasing Consortium in 2014.
We have an international practice with 66 offices across 32 countries, including 12 offices in the
UK and Ireland.
We have experience in legal issues affecting consortium
members and we can support you in all areas including: For more information please contact:
− employment cases − health and safety
− litigation & dispute − intellectual property
management − student law
− charity law − commercial and
− real estate matters finance issues
− constitutional advice − international Diane Gilhooley
− regulatory issues Partner, Head of the Eversheds
Sutherland UK and International
Education Practice
eversheds-sutherland.com T: +44 161 831 8151
© Eversheds Sutherland 2018. All rights reserved. dianegilhooley@
DTUK001911_09/18 eversheds-sutherland.com
lupc.ac.uk London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 3
NEWS FOLLOW @LUPCONSORTIUM
LUPC Team Update
There have been a number of changes within LUPC over the
last couple of months, following the departure in 2018 of
Andy Davies, Director, and Laura Compton, Assistant Director,
Membership.
We are pleased to announce that Don Bowman was appointed
Director of LUPC in December. Don joined LUPC in January 2016
as Assistant Director, Procurement and was acting Director for
the seven months preceding his appointment as Director.
Don said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Director
Left to right:, Suzanne Picken, Marisol Bernal, Sam Randhawa and Don Bowman.
at LUPC, this is a period of significant change, both within the
sector and at LUPC itself and I am looking forward to meeting Suzanne said: “I’m so happy to be given the opportunity to work
these challenges. We have a busy few years ahead, with the on the membership and marketing side of LUPC and to develop
implementation of the Future Collaboration Project with SUPC, some new skills. I’m really looking forward to working closer with
the development of a strategic plan to support delivery of our our Members”.
new corporate strategy and the planning for the COUP 2021
conference, which will be hosted by LUPC in September 2021. I Sam Randhawa started at LUPC in January as the new Senior
have a difficult act to follow, but am grateful for the support and Contracts Manager for Estates and FM. Sam has a background
guidance given by my predecessor, Andy Davies.” in quantity surveying and was previously working as a Category
Manager in the Estates & Facilities Team at Goldsmith’s
Suzanne Picken, formerly Senior Contracts Manager in the University of London where he was responsible for the
Estates and FM category, was appointed to the role of Head procurement and contract management of capital projects,
of Membership and Marketing in November. Suzanne has refurbishment works, maintenance and soft FM requirements
worked at LUPC for over five years and her knowledge of both across campus.
procurement and the sector, as well as Member relationships
developed during her previous role at LUPC, made her an ideal Marisol Bernal, LLM International and Commercial Law, has also
candidate for this role. joined LUPC as a Responsible Procurement Office. Marisol spent
three years working at the Columbian consulate in Aruba before
studying her masters degree at the University of Greenwich.
ISO 20400:2017 Brexit: Supply Chain
Re-Assessment Impacts
As part of LUPC’s endeavour to be
the leader in the sector in responsible
procurement, LUPC underwent
re-assessment in December for
ISO 20400:2017, the international
standard for sustainable procurement.
Our previous score was 3.71 out of
5 or 74.2%, and this time we were
looking to achieve a score of 4.2, or
84%. Following on from the feedback
received in our last assessment in July and August 2017, we were
looking to improve in the areas of risk assessment, responsible
procurement policy and strategy (including special projects) and
due diligence. LUPC, along with each of the other five regional purchasing
consortia, are assessing framework suppliers on the degree to
To enhance our sustainable procurement performance, we have which their services/goods provision will be impacted by Brexit.
developed Equiano, our risk assessment system, and have started
to assess our Framework Agreements against risk and type of All framework agreements are then being categorised in terms
supply chain. We have also created additional special projects, of Brexit having a low, medium or high risk impact. The focus will
many of which provide due diligence against certain framework be on framework suppliers in medium and high risk categories.
agreements, for example the gloves social factory audit. Although there remains a high level of uncertainty surrounding
Brexit and its impacts, these suppliers will be asked to detail the
We can confirm achievement of a new score greater than 4.2, actions being taken to mitigate the risks identified and to provide
but are awaiting news of our final score as well as the assessment us with their contingency plans.
report which we will share with you in the next edition of Linked.
We will keep Members informed as this work progresses.
4 London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 lupc.ac.uk
NEWS
Launch Event: NEW Debt NEW AGREEMENTS
Recoveries Framework & Legal
Student Matters
LUPC are hosting a full day of
training on the 5th April 2019
covering Debt Recoveries &
Legal Student Matters. The
material is targeted at:
• Finance and Income
specialists • Library Security and Self-Service
• Legal counsel or those Equipment, Software and
responsible for obtaining Maintenance
legal advice • Entrance & Access Control Systems
• Procurement specialists & Associated Equipment & Services
that are responsible for • National Education Recruitment
the professional services Advertising and Resourcing Services
category (NERARS)
• Well-being officers or those that offer advice to students, e.g. debt problems For more information on all agreements
• Or anyone else that oversees these areas. visit: lupc.ac.uk
Come and meet with your new framework suppliers on the Debt Recovery framework
(PFB5044 LU) that started in October 2018, as well as those on Lot 6 (Student matters - UPCOMING TENDERS
PFB5041 LU) of the National Legal Services framework that went live in May 2017.
There will be continuing professional development (CPD) presentations from both debt • Sustainable Waste Management
recovery and legal suppliers sharing specialist debt recovery market knowledge and legal (expected award date Feb 2019)
cases, and the legal impacts of mismanaging student or staff wellbeing. • Occupational Health Services
Suppliers offering debt recovery services can be put into two separate groups which (expected award date Mar 2019)
informed the Lot structure: • Temporary Staff
(expected award date Mar 2019)
Lot 1: Pre-Legal only collections
• Taxi Services for London and
Lot 2: One stop shop and Legal recoveries surrounding counties
Lot 6: Student matters of the National Legal Services framework is a niche service (expected award date April 2019)
provided by specialist lawyers who will be on hand to answer any questions you might
have about contracts with students, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and NEW MEMBERS
what members can put in place to support students.
Networking opportunities will also be available with other legal firms on the national • Royal College of Psychiatrists
framework for those members interested in the wider legal framework in the afternoon. • Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
To register for the event and tell us your pressing question for the panel to debate, • Met Office
please go to www.lupc.ac.uk/events
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Welcome new Members • Meet the Team breakfasts –
1 Feb, 2 May 2019, London
• New Member Inductions -
LUPC has welcomed three new Members in the last quarter. The first is The Royal College 1 Feb, 2 May 2019, London
of Psychiatrists, which adds to the other four medical Royal Colleges that are already • Debt Recoveries Framework
Members of LUPC. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the professional medical body & Legal Student Matters Launch -
responsible for supporting psychiatrists throughout their careers from training through to 5 April 2019, London
retirement, and in setting and raising standards of psychiatry in the United Kingdom.
• LUPC & SUPC Conference 2019
Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, a not for profit research organisation fostering a world- 16 May 2019, County Hall, London
leading cell and gene therapy industry in the UK, has also joined us. - details coming soon!
The latest Member to join LUPC is The Met Office, the United Kingdom's national weather
service making meteorological predictions across all time scales from weather forecasts To keep track of all our events visit
to climate change. www.lupc.ac.uk/events
We’re delighted to have you on-board!
lupc.ac.uk 5
COMMODITY UPDATES FOLLOW @LUPCONSORTIUM
This section will give you an update on any new agreements in
place, or news on existing agreements. Please note this is not the Estates Maintenance & Minor Works – Regional SR
A breakfast networking meeting between LUPC Members and suppliers
full list of available agreements, just those where there is some
on the Estates Maintenance and Minor Works Framework is taking
news to report. For the full list of agreements and for further place on 24 January 2019. As well as networking, attendees can hear
information on any of the agreements listed here, please visit the about the WELL Building Standard and the evolution of NEC3 to NEC4
HE Contracts (HEC) site: www.hecontracts.co.uk contracts.
The initials next to each agreement indicate the LUPC Contracts Freight and Haulage – National CM
Manager you should contact for further information about a This is a brand new agreement that will be run as a Dynamic Purchasing
particular agreement, these are as follows: System (DPS) and will cover both general freight and exhibition freight.
The DPS will be in place by end of January 2019 and will be promoted to
suppliers in February 2019.
CM Cristian Martin 020 7307 2771 c.martin@lupc.ac.uk
JK Joyce Kadri 020 7307 2763 j.kadri@lupc.ac.uk Security Services – Regional SR
Framework review meetings have been held with CIS and Noonan.
MK Mike Kilner 020 7307 2768 m.kilner@lupc.ac.uk Three contracts have been awarded via the framework in the
SP Sam Randhawa 020 7307 2772 s.randhawa@lupc.ac.uk last quarter.
DW Darran Whatley 020 7307 2764 d.whatley@lupc.ac.uk Signs and Signage – National SR
This framework is being re-tendered and will be in place in July 2019.
Other useful contacts:
Waste Management Services (Sustainable) – National SR
JISC www.jisc.ac.uk The ITT of the re-tendered framework is in the final stages of evaluation,
TUCO www.tuco.org with award scheduled for the end of January. The new framework
TEC www.tec.ac.uk will be open to Members of LUPC, SUPC, NEUPC, NWUPC, TUCO and
HEPCW. The Framework go live date is scheduled for mid February.
CATERING
FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS
Catering - Outsourced Services – National SP Furniture Supply & Installation – National DW
Framework suppliers will shortly be invited to meet with LUPC for The award process of the re-tendered framework agreement is now
review meetings . complete, please check HEC for details, as Lots started on different
dates: www.hecontracts.co.uk/agreements/484
White Goods – National MK
ESTATES & FM Review meetings are to be held with all suppliers in March, dates to be
confirmed. A survey will be distributed prior to this to obtain feedback
Cleaning and Janitorial Products – National SR from members on supplier performance and framework satisfaction.
A re-tender of this agreement is underway and will be in place in Suppliers will be asked to provide information on packaging processes
July 2019 and initiatives as a focus area. Resultant information can be shared
Cleaning Services – Regional SR with interested parties.
Framework review meeting held with Tenon FM who has recently been Stearn are hosting a visit to the GDHA factory for the NWUPC
awarded a second contract through the framework. Framework review Domestics Category Group. The group will experience UK
meeting scheduled for February with Churchill, who now have five manufacturing of home appliances with a focus on sustainability; an
contracts through the framework. article on the visit will be produced and potentially shared
Couriers - National CM with members.
The current Courier, parcel and international mail services framework is
being re-tendered and the new framework will be in place in July 2019 ICT & TELECOMS
Electrical Materials & Associated Products – National MK Computing - Data Centre Management Equipment &
Review meetings are in the process of being organised for either Infrastructure – National MK
February or March. Feedback on the agreement from members ahead Now in its final year, a draft Procurement Strategy has been
of these is welcome and will be formally requested once the meeting formulated as part of planning for the next tender and a request will
dates have been finalised. be made shortly for tender working party volunteers to help with the
Electronics (NUWPEC) – National MK procurement.
Minutes from the last review meetings, held at LUPC on 25 October, Computing- Desktop & Notebook Agreement - National
have been circulated and the contract management team arranged a (‘NDNA’) MK
site visit to RS Components with the aim of seeing their new production Sales figures and charts by region and OEM (including resellers) for the
line and packaging reduction processes. Work has also commenced on agreement up to and including Q1 2018/9 have been shared to both
undertaking a price comparison exercise. the working party and the framework suppliers as well as hosted on
The group will be attending a meeting on 26 February 2019 at HEC for institution visibility. Detailed Sales and Service Management
CPC offices in the lead up to the tender renewal process, a user Information, Minutes and Matters Arising from Meetings, Mini-
questionnaire will be developed and issued around this time for Competition Exemplars and Presentations will continue to be available
feedback. The group’s discussions will include pricing options; either on HEC or from the Contract Manager on request.
historically based on a discount structure, which is complicated to Acer have now filled their previously vacant third business partner
manage and monitor, versus cost-plus, fixed priced, open book and position by the addition of Centerprise as of 7 January 2019. The next
end column pricing. That intention is to increase the number of goods review meetings are being held at Stone Computers between 18-20
in the tender basket and take account of purchases made through the March and will include a full on-site review of Stone’s operation
agreement including variable weightings based on volumes purchased. including their recycling centre.
6 London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 lupc.ac.uk
COMMODITY UPDATES
The framework suppliers continue to participate in providing advice on LIBRARY
the potential impact of Brexit outcomes on the IT supply chain/NDNA Serials – Inter-Regional (LUPC and NWUPC) CM
within the UK. The tender documents for the framework re-tender were completed
Computing - National Education Printer Agreement (‘NEPA’) MK before Christmas and went out to market on time. The tender process
HP Inc have recently completed the acquisition of current reseller continues as scheduled with bids expected back in February.
Apogee and the parties have confirmed that Apogee will not receive
preferential terms from HP over other resellers. As from 21 December OFFICE SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT
2018 and across all Lots, Apogee will no longer be a Canon reseller.
Office Supplies – National DW
The potential final year extension of the agreement, which is due in
The tender working party met during December to discuss the strategy
April, will be considered as part of a survey to gather feedback issued to
issued by NWUPC for the new agreement commencing in August 2019.
HE Consortia members.
CM is due to meet in January with CCS, HP and NWUPC about the re-
The current suppliers have been invited to review meetings in February. tender and responsible procurement
Computing - PCs with Apple Operating Systems – National MK
Current framework supplier review meetings were held on 13-14 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
November 2018 at UCL and were immediately preceded by a highly Insurance – Regional MK
valuable discussion with their Supplier Responsibility Team, including a There was a record response to the annual insurance survey and
number of their States-based team. Minutes from the reviews should be the findings were discussed in depth at the service review meetings
available shortly and will be circulated to commodity group members. held between the ITSG and Gallagher, ZM, RSA and Atrium/TRF on 4
Using the same format as before, the intention is to now meet with December. It was confirmed that Gallagher had recently recruited two
Apple’s Environmental team on 21 May with the reviews immediately additional members of staff and addressed allocations across the whole
following. team in an attempt to ensure that response times improved. It was also
agreed that an actuarial review of PA/Travel premiums by the Gallagher
Computing - Server, Storage & Solutions National Agreement Actuary team will take place prior to any decision on whether or not to
(“SSSNA”) MK re-tender PA/Travel outside of the group’s normal 5-year arrangements,
Supplier reviews with each of the manufacturers took place in to enable greater focus on that area.
November and the minutes from these meetings are available on
request and correspondingly shared with the LUPC Computing Group. Bomb blast scenarios are now being completed by the Terrorism
providers (Atrium/TRF) on behalf of each member and without the BI
Software Licence Resellers (SLRA) – National MK information as agreed.
The next set of review meetings are scheduled for January 2019. An
agreement spend and product trend report for year 1 of the agreement ZM have created new centres of excellence in Glasgow for Property
has now been completed and is available to members. and Motor and PL/EL in Farnborough following the end of their internal
consultation process. Building and training the new teams is currently
Finance, HR/Payroll, ERP and Associated Services MK underway. The intended group visit is likely to be in March as the teams
Full details, which are available on HEC at www.hecontracts.co.uk/ will be undergoing intensive training during February.
agreements/551, have now been circulated to all parties regarding the
new 2 + 2 year agreement. The group was also working with ZM and Gallagher towards offering
Accident Management training to all members paid out from the ZM
Unit 4 were contacted and agreed to present at the LUPC/SUPC ICT Risk Management bursary.
conference held late November.
Debt Collection – National CM
The process of on-boarding Hitachi Consulting UK Ltd to the agreement All framework documents, including desk-top calculators are now
has now been completed. on HEC. A launch event is organised for the 5 April. The event will be
Telecommunications inc. landline & mobile – (CCS) RM1045 MK focused on debt collection best practice as well as student wellbeing/
CCS are holding a number of introductory webinars starting from the legal impacts. This event is linked with student matters Lot 6 of the legal
end of January for those interested in taking part in the next mobile framework, with suppliers on that lot invited to present on the day, and
aggregation opportunity. The project timeline is for delivery from May the remaining legal suppliers invited for networking in the afternoon.
2019: The new framework has a different Lot structure to mirror the supply
• January – early March: customer engagement and webinars market:
• End March: deadline to return customer requirement template Lot 1 - Pre-legal only collections (Debt collectors)
• April – May: goes to tender Lot 2 - One-stop-shop (Pre-legal collections and Legal Recoveries)
(Legal firms only)
• End May: formal award
Legal Services – National CM
• End June: service available A joint event with Debt Collection is organized for Members for 5 April
Further details can be found at ccsheretohelp.uk/how-to-buy/ 2019. The event is titled, “Debt Recovery and Student Legal Matters”.
aggregation/ See above.
Computing – General Matters not covered elsewhere Occupational Health Services – National CM
The Jisc Routing and Switching framework is due to go to OJEU shortly The current agreement has been extended and is being re-tendered
as part of its re-procurement. Contract documentation is in the final using the Open Tender procedure.
stages of drafting and presently being reviewed ahead of its issuing. We are looking for tender working party participation by Members.
The LUPC and SUPC ICT Briefing and Networking Event was successfully This will be a national framework, with an additional Lot for London
held at the end of November and c.40 attendees saw presentations and only suppliers. The amendments will make the framework easier to
demos from Jisc, Intel, Unit 4 and HP as well as having the opportunity use for suppliers and members. Acknowledging that the cost/risk in
to explore the latest technology on display within HP’s Customer supplying the service is in medical staff time, a calculator is being drafted
Welcome Centre. to help members estimate how much time is needed, and greater
lupc.ac.uk London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 7
COMMODITY UPDATES FOLLOW @LUPCONSORTIUM
encouragement is being made to commit to resources to remove some Other Laboratory – Updates
of the risk from suppliers. This should result in increasing the quality of STEMed group met in November to discuss strategy update and Brexit
service and achieving value for money by greater supplier participation approach to this market’s suppliers.
and less need to build in risk within the pricing model.
Darran Whatley shadowed a LUPC commissioned social factory audit
Temporary Staff – Regional CM based on SMETA standard, which includes ETI base code application.
SUPC is tendering a National agreement for temporary staff with a Corrective action and full report received. Engagement and support
London focused Lot to assist SMEs. The SQs have been marked, over from the glove manufacturer has continued. Initial report has been
50 suppliers submitted bids. The ITT has been issued. The current issued, and further report due in January to update the SHIELD Scientific
agreement has been extended to co-terminate with the new agreement progress with corrective actions.
start.
Ceremonial Gown & Photography Services—National JK TRAVEL
A future event for Members and framework suppliers is being
considered. Taxi Services – Regional JK
The tender documentation for the re-tender of this framework is
being prepared.
STEMed & LABORATORIES
Gases (IUPC) – National MK UTILITIES
Sales figures and charts by region and supplier for the agreement up to For all TEC news, visit their website at www.tec.ac.uk/news
and including Q1 2018/9 have been shared with both the working party
and the suppliers, as well as being hosted on HEC.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
The minutes from the most recent review meetings held 26 October at
LUPC have been circulated to the group. The potential inclusion of lab Publications
freezers via refrigerant product suppliers such as Air Products on the Monthly e-bulletins were issued in November, December and January.
next agreement has been a point of discussion at this and previous Members
meetings areas. New full Members in the last quarter include Royal College of
A programme is in place to move sites across to BOC’s ‘Accura’ Psychiatrists, Met Office, and Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.
cloud-based, App-accessible cylinder management program following a Events
number of successful trials including at LUPC’s Member, the Science and LUPC has started a series of networking and information events, to
Technology Facilities Council, as well as Strathclyde University. improve engagement between LUPC staff and our Members;
General Laboratory Equipment, Supply/Installation – National DW • The first quarterly Meet the Team breakfast and New Member
DW met with Appleton Woods on 18 October, SLS on 23 October, Sciquip Inductions took place on Friday 2 November. The next one is
24 October and Wolf Labs 26 October, to discuss Orders, MI process, scheduled for Friday 1 Feb.
Equiano response, their modern slavery statement, sustainability across
the supply chain, BT14 Sustainability Benefits and Brexit. • An ICT Briefing and Networking Event was held on 29 November
Meeting with Triple Red delayed until second week of January. • An Estates Networking Event is scheduled for 24 January
Next review will now be March, confirmation will be sent in late January. • A Debt Collection and Student Legal Matters event is planned for
5 April
Laboratory Consumables - Inter-Regional (IRLA) DW
The SUPC category contracts manager who manages this framework • A launch event for the new Waste Management Framework will be
agreement has left and a consultant has been re-appointed on a held in the spring
temporary basis. A permanent contracts manager for this area has been The venue for the LUPC & SUPC Conference 2019 has been booked at
appointed by SUPC and is due to start in February. County Hall for 16th May 2019.
A meeting is being held in January to discuss the legal advice on the
proposed terms and conditions for the new framework agreement being (Correct at 14 Jan 2019)
led by SUPC, with the tender working party chair and LUPC in attendance. Full details of all agreements are available at lupc.ac.uk
The current framework has been extended to 31/05/19, and the new
tender contract plan will be available soon.
Laboratory Chemicals General Purpose- Inter-Regional (IRLA) DW
Same details as for Laboratory Consumables above.
Laboratory – Life Sciences – Antibodies and Sera DW
Becton Dickinson have been removed from the framework agreement, as
they have not agreed terms and conditions.
Laboratory – Life Sciences – Equipment First FA DW
A meeting was held with KCL lab Managers about the lot structure and
equipment type specifications.
Equipment type specification work with Kings College London’s research
staff due for completion by 07/01/19, the tender pack will then be
updated and sent to the tender working party for final comments.
Laboratory – Molecular Biology Research Services (previously
Life Sciences – Services) DW
NEUPC advised award notices to be published by the end of January.
8 London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 lupc.ac.uk
NEWS FEATURE
Electronics Watch update
The third annual Electronics Watch Conference took place
in Amsterdam in December. LUPC’s Mike Kilner, Electronics
Watch Trustee, reports.
Our latest Electronics Watch (EW) update focuses on the Affiliates the imperatives of competition and transparency. Compliance
& Monitors Meeting and the Third Annual EW Conference, with environmental, social and labour law are optional grounds for
which were held back-to-back on adjacent days last December in exclusion however buyers remain, for a variety of reasons, wary
Amsterdam. Unlike the previous years, the format moved away of attempting to push through their enforcement within tenders
from a combination of panel discussions and longer presentations or call-off competitions. This was later touched upon in one of the
to greater emphasis on shorter talks and interventions, as well as afternoon technical workshops, led by legal expert David Hansom
opportunities for wider delegate participation. of Clyde & Co, covering the new second generation EW contract
clauses, and the encouragement of affiliates to include the terms
The Conference has grown over the years and 25 founding
and toolkit materials in their procurements.
members have now become more than 300 affiliates across
several countries making their voices heard within the industry. There were two further excellent workshops that ran concurrently
The Affiliates & Monitors Meeting focused on a number of local to this session, one taking the audience through the launch of the
stories concerning strengthening workers’ collective voices and new Performance Tracker enabling public buyers to immediately
influence in the workplace and worker driven monitoring and compare and contrast the performance of their suppliers against
supply chain transparency. It was evident from the first day that several indices. The other reviewed recent guidance and legislation
the wide practice of exploiting migrant workers remains a very real on human rights due diligence in global supply chains with cross-
problem and one that remains high on the agenda. There was also nation participation including Crown Commercial Services, who
a problem in promoting the achievements in a way that would give agreed to become engaged and work closely with EW during 2018.
assurance to factory workers participating in audits and studies
Each of the interactive sessions led to the discussion and writing-up
that their voice is being heard and making a real difference on-the-
of a significant number of ideas and suggestions on the workers’
ground to the overall benefit of everyone.
rights issues and solutions we see in global supply chains, as well
Board of Trustees colleague, Gopi Parakuni, gave a hard-hitting as the future direction of travel for Electronics Watch. One such
short talk on the issue of fake auditing practices within Asian-based proposal was to set up separate WhatsApp groups for public
factories. In this scenario, the company-employed ‘auditor’ would sector affiliates and monitoring partners to share ideas, important
be tasked with rooting out potential trouble makers on the factory developments and areas requiring discussion in an immediate way,
floor during the course of a faux independent 1:1 interview process. given that the vast majority have only a limited means to currently
Gopi also observed that in many parts of the world, a separation of interact with other affiliates outside of the annual conference.
classes remains. This often results in a general distrust of auditors
and therefore presents great difficulty in finding out the truth in
workers’ rights related matters. All full Members of LUPC are also affiliate members of Electronics
Watch, an additional Member benefit.
At the Conference session, I was delighted to be asked to present
a short talk on the connection between purchasing practices and
working conditions. This included our current engagement with
the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the provision of
information to date. One key message that I wanted to get across
is that the possibilities for contracting authorities like LUPC to
procure sustainably are balanced, sometimes precariously, against
lupc.ac.uk London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 9
FEATURES FOLLOW @LUPCONSORTIUM
Gloves are off on human
rights violations in
Laboratory supply chains
Ready to commence the audit
LUPC carried out an audit of a Malaysian glove factory to check the working
conditions of migrant workers. LUPC’s Jim Biggin, Graduate Procurement
Officer, provides an update on the findings.
LUPC Senior Contracts Manager, Darran Whatley, travelled to
LUPC NINE STEP AUDIT ACTION PLAN Malaysia in collaboration with Asia Inspection, an experienced
auditing company, in October 2018. He helped undertake a pilot
STEP 1 Identify the products
social audit in close collaboration with SHIELD Scientific and one
STEP 2 Gather detailed product information from re-sell of their sub-contracted gloves manufacturers on the Laboratory
suppliers Consumables Framework.
STEP 3 Investigate and verify the nature of location(s) This exercise was part of LUPC’s focus to be the leader in
responsible public procurement in the UK and beyond by
STEP 4 Compile an interactive map
promoting ethical standards across supply chains collaboratively
STEP 5 Develop a grading system with suppliers. The audit came about from Darran’s scoping
exercises and spend analysis on the Laboratory Consumables
STEP 6 Undertake a factory audit
spend category, which highlighted that across five University
STEP 7 Work with the supplier to address and/or remedy Purchasing Consortia, more than £4m is spent on laboratory
non-conformance gloves alone. It was not in response to recent publications in the
Guardian about serious labour rights abuse in the glove industry
STEP 8 Follow-up
as it had been planned since 2017. These recent publications do
STEP 9 Case study and communication to Members however underline the significance and importance of socially
responsible procurement.
10 London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 lupc.ac.ukFEATURES
As one stage in a nine-step action plan, Darran took the initiative
by conducting the first in-person audit of any UK Higher Education
Consortia.
The purpose of this special project was to acquire hands-on
experience and evidence of risk identification, evaluation and
mitigation using supply chain mapping and factory auditing.
Darran said “I had to see the experiences of workers first-hand to
really understand the conditions they face, and it really gave me a
feeling of how justified this work is.”
Findings
The auditing team and Darran found that the conditions in the
audited factory were mostly compliant with the Ethical Trade
Initiative (ETI) base code and Malaysian law.
It is also positive to witness the voluntary effort made by SHIELD
Scientific to allow their supply chain to be audited. This has
helped assure to LUPC they are complying with the framework
terms and conditions and to demonstrate that the glove factory is
taking human rights and safe working conditions seriously.
The auditing team did identify six minor non-conformances that
needed to be addressed.
Four of the non-conformances related to Ethical Trading Initiative
(ETI) base code, an internationally recognised code of labour
practice, which LUPC has voluntarily incorporated into its
frameworks. They included:
• Potentially exceeding the ETI Base Code on weekly
working hours
• The need to appoint a senior member of management to
manage implementation of the ETI Base Code Addressing these within 30 days was an important achievement.
It was positive to see that all parties equally understood the
• The need to communicate the ETI Base Code to factory
importance of compliance and the importance of ensuring public
employees
money is being used responsibility.
• The need to communicate the ETI Base Code to their
Rectifying the minor non-conformances will be beneficial for the
supply chain
workers in the factory as the corrective actions will consider every
Some workers were found to be potentially exceeding the employee.
number of working hours in a week. Although further study
On the working conditions Darran witnessed, he said:
showed that the number of working hours was fully compliant
with Malaysian laws, and the information provided by the factory “I had to be relative with my opinions of the conditions. It’s a
suggests that all ETI Base Code exceptions for working hours and different kind of normal there, and it was so different to what
overtime were met. As such LUPC did not think this constituted a we would accept in the UK, so I had to remind myself we were
non-conformance. SHIELD Scientific is continuing discussions with specifically observing our terms and conditions, and their local
the factory’s CSR manager on this issue and is awaiting closure law, not ours.”
due to the final confirmation of the details of the law and how it
He continued by saying “Eventually we want to say work like this
measures against ETI Base Code exceptions.
has brought their working conditions up to our standards.”
The factory and its suppliers were unlikely to have known
The audit had its challenges. As this was the first audit LUPC has
about the ETI Base Code requirement, so the responsibility for
conducted there was uncertainty about what would be found,
communicating this fell to LUPC and SHIELD Scientific. In light
making every moment a learning experience.
of this, LUPC will communicate and follow up with framework
suppliers to ensure the ETI Base Code is being adhered to in the The audit spanned a three-day trip, spending six hours in the
supply chain. factory, and a translator was also needed to convey the multiple
languages of a 99% migrant workforce.
The rectification of the fifth non-conformance was the
replacement of an inadequate covering of an electric box. Lastly, In total, 26 workers were interviewed, six individually and four
the sixth was focussed on improving the brightness of lighting in groups of five were also held from the 692 workers to get a
one of the workshops. representative idea of what it is like to work in that factory.
Five of the six non-conformances were rectified within 30 days The audit used was the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit
with photographic evidence provided. (SMETA) 2 Pillar method which utilises the Ethical Trading
lupc.ac.uk London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 11FEATURES FOLLOW @LUPCONSORTIUM
Initiative’s Base Code, matching LUPC’s commitment. LUPC was in its other categories. Next up, LUPC will be conducting due
keen to use this methodology as it attempts to ensure “best diligence exercises in the security and cleaning supply chains
practice ethical audit techniques” to evaluate all elements of in collaboration with the other sister consortia to investigate
responsible business practice. The service’s reliability was also potential human rights, health and safety and environmental non-
influential when choosing this method, with 20,000 SMETA audits conformances.
uploaded to Sedex, the creator of SMETA audits, every year.
In addition, LUPC is increasing the utilisation of Electronics
Local law was incorporated into the SMETA monitoring standards, Watch’s tools for supply chain due diligence, e.g. the Company
and the audit itself was carried out against the labour standards, Performance Tracker and Factory Disclosure forms.
health and safety and other elements of the factory.
The collaborative relationship between LUPC and SHIELD Scientific
has therefore resulted in material changes to the lives of people
who help ensure that Members’ laboratories can perform to their
high standards under the Laboratory Consumables Framework.
LUPC’s Director Don Bowman said:
“I am very proud Darran went so far for LUPC and the Members.
It makes me feel confident that we are directing our own future
and continuing to take the lead in responsible procurement”.
Look out for more updates by following LUPC’s responsible
procurement work on Twitter, Linked magazine, the LUPC
and SUPC annual conference in May, e-bulletin, website and
working parties.
If you wish to have a greater impact on LUPC’s work, contact
Darran Whatley, Senior Contracts Manager, d.whatley@lupc.
ac.uk. T: 020 7307 2769 about joining LUPC’s Responsible
Representatives from the glove factory; SHIELD Scientific, framework supplier; Procurement Advisory Group, which spearheads LUPC’s
LUPC and the auditors QIMA (formerly AsiaInspection) at the closing meeting of responsible procurement policies and strategies.
the audit.
Lesson’s learned
The simplicity of the supply chain and the ubiquitous presence
of laboratory gloves in Members’ laboratories meant it was an
effective category to begin with. Therefore, the lessons learned
and impact of these due diligence exercises were believed to
have relevant benefits for a considerable proportion of
LUPC’s Members.
Besides the action-points found, a raft of best practice was
brought back that can be applied to further LUPC and other
consortia audits. For example, a growing familiarity with the audit
process means more valid and reliable outcomes, as LUPC would
be more confident in asking questions.
Also, the demonstrable success of this audit transparently shows
how a small organisation like the LUPC can make a big difference.
Other suppliers can see the value of such work for themselves,
as well as Members and other consortia, with the aim of
encouraging further auditing.
Multiple actions were formulated to ensure that future audits are
more effective in investigating, resolving and monitoring
non-compliance in all supply chains LUPC is involved with.
LUPC has now considered greater work in the nine step plan
pre-audit, such as asking Members what outcomes they would HE Procurement for The
like, to generate greater LUPC ownership of the audit process. Next Generation
During the audit, an independent translator would also enable
greater certainty that the answers workers gave were their own
words and ensure consistency in the questions asked.
Next steps
LUPC wishes to continue this momentum of hands-on
experience with risk identification, evaluation and mitigation
12 London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 lupc.ac.ukFEATURES
Student mental ill-health:
some legal implications
With a rise in mental ill-health among students, Hill Dickinson’s Iain
Campbell examines the legal obligations on education institutions
Well-publicised tragedies have raised public awareness of the
rise in mental ill-health among students. It was reported that in
2017-18, 95 students committed suicide, while the proportion
of disabled students with mental health problems is said to have
virtually doubled in four years. If a tragedy occurs, an inquest
will be held. The knowledge and actions of the institution may be
scrutinised in public by the coroner.
Do institutions have to protect students from the consequences
of their own mental ill-health? Might this trend encourage claims
from students who would argue, after the event, that they were
entitled to be better protected from themselves? If things go
wrong, what is institutions’ legal exposure and how can they
defend themselves?
There is no shortage of policy announcements and politicians'
exhortations: The Education Secretary in December 2018 called
on universities to do more to follow up emergency contacts
where a student was at risk of a mental health crisis. Increasingly,
it is proposed that universities obtain students’ consent to notify
family members where they may become worried about the
mental health of someone who appears vulnerable, at risk of
duty to identify those at risk of self-harm or suicide, and, where
self-harming or even of suicide. But an institution which gains
the risk is known about, to intervene?
this right e.g. by taking consent from a newly registered first-year
student, may risk a form of legal double jeopardy: either being Much is heard of a (or ‘the’) duty of care owed by institutions to
held to have assumed a duty to intervene when, after a harmful students. This may be simplistic. Often, the real issues in any case
outcome, intervention appeared with hindsight to have been the are, firstly, from what harm the duty entitles the student to be
right option, or of being accused of breach of confidentiality by protected (clear examples being physical injury from defective
a student who had not wanted family members to be told of a premises or equipment, and injury to the feelings of a disabled
personal issue. student, if caused by discrimination or harassment). Secondly,
what is the scope of the duty, namely, what actions is the
There is a statutory duty on institutions to protect others on site
institution properly required to take to try to avoid such harm?
from risks to their health and safety, through taking reasonable
measures. Recently the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for As yet, a universal legal duty to protect all students from self-
Higher Education (OIA) dismissed a complaint by a student who harm or suicide, on or off campus, cannot necessarily be assumed.
had been excluded from campus for disruptive behaviour that was The moral duty is obvious!
seen to pose a risk to others. Notwithstanding that the institution
had no proof at the time that the disruptive behaviour was due
to the mental ill-health of the student concerned, the OIA held
it was justified in protecting others. But this duty only requires
institutions to conduct their own affairs to protect people against
such risks. It would not necessarily apply where the risk of illness
or self-injury was not directly increased by the institution itself.
Iain Campbell is a partner at Hill Dickinson LLP.
Of course, a student with a known disability has rights under Contact iain.campbell@hilldickinson.com
the Equality Act 2010, including the duty on institutions to make
reasonable adjustments. Questions include at what point low Hill Dickinson is a framework supplier on
mood, depression or despair amount to a disability and whether the consortia Legal Services framework. For
institutions are responsible to identify persons experiencing Members seeking legal advice around any
this. When it is made known, those students must be entitled to matters relating to students, you can instruct
support. But apart from disability, is there a more general legal a specialist firm via Lot 6 Student Matters.
lupc.ac.uk London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 13FEATURES FOLLOW @LUPCONSORTIUM
Case study: Graduation
Gown Hire by the University
of Exeter
Martin Lewis explains how the
University of Exeter revamped their
graduation ceremonies utilising
the LUPC’s Ceremonial Gown and
Photography Services framework
Graduation Attire Limited, one of the suppliers on the Ceremonial
Gown and Photography Services Framework, was awarded the
opportunity to work with the University of Exeter when the
institute sought a new robing supplier to revamp their graduation
ceremonies. Their existing contract had come to a natural end and
the LUPC framework agreement meant that the University could
take into consideration a variety of providers whilst evaluating key
areas that mattered to them most; quality of service, efficiency on
the day and a clear focus on the student experience. from 100% post-consumer plastic waste. Likewise, the exact design
and creation of academic staff gowns were conceived to meet the
Client Feedback requirements of the various universities across the globe.
“We believe that the huge success of this December’s graduations Customer Service and the Finishing Touches
is the perfect example of what the LUPC agreement has to offer.
Martin and the Graduation Attire team provided an exceptional Support for students is at the core of Graduation Attire’s mission.
service throughout the process, both with advanced planning Multiple communication channels were set up for students in case
and during the graduations themselves. They were efficient, they were unsure of any aspect of the graduation day process,
professional, and worked wonderfully with our on-site staff to including a Customer Message Portal, a Gradbot (Graduation
ensure that our students received the best possible service for Attire’s chatbot) and online instructional videos. This support
their ceremonies. ensured that all students walked into their graduation ceremony
with total confidence and could enjoy their special day.
Martin and the team were in regular contact with us prior to the
graduation ceremonies; to advise on how to set up the robing Summary
room, provide updates on orders, and give invaluable advice on all Setting a benchmark for other institutions, the University of Exeter
robing matters. On the day, despite the challenge of a very short was the first to use the LUPC’s Ceremonial Gown and Photography
set-up time, the Graduation Attire team moved into place quickly Services framework to help make this very important decision.
and got everything working seamlessly. The operation was slick The process for the University of Exeter was executed effortlessly
and efficient, and we were very impressed with the management and ensured a suitably fast transition to the institution’s new robing
of the room as well as the service that our students were offered. supplier. The process has allowed a closer and stronger working
Feedback from graduates has been very positive and suggests relationship between the University and the supplier, ensuring
that the Graduation Attire team contributed to a fantastic that the student voice was always at the heart of the conversation.
graduation experience. Verified feedback demonstrated that this process improved the
We have also received excellent feedback from our Senior quality of the University’s graduations, which is certainly worth
Management Team who were impressed with the way Graduation celebrating.
Attire slotted in to our process with ease. We are very much
looking forward to working with Graduation Attire for our future
graduation ceremonies.”
Gemma Edney – Graduation Officer, University of Exeter
Production
Martin Lewis is the Managing Director at Graduation Attire
The attire for the Winter Graduation ceremony was produced Limited, a framework supplier on the consortia Ceremonial
following an incredibly efficient process, ensuring that it was Gown and Photography Services framework.
ready in time for the December event. All attire was made to full Contact martin@graduationattire.co.uk
specification using Graduation Attire’s Enviro-thread fabric, made
14 London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 lupc.ac.ukFEATURES
If Water Can Be Recycled
In Space…
With water being a vital resource in
high demand, Springfield Business
Papers’ Maisy Griffiths reports on
why the paper industry has innovated
its use of water and how it is moving
towards closed loop water recycling1.
Water is so valuable that NASA has even developed technology
to recycle the moisture from astronauts’ breath!2 Each year the
European paper industry uses around 3,397,000,000m of water3.
For scale, that’s about the same amount of water as it would take
to fill 1.4 million Olympic sized swimming pools.
to the mill, which is energy intensive, but it also opens up the
Problems and Concerns possibility of exploiting potential energy through hydropower
Water is used for screening, cleaning and cooling machines. It’s during the water treatment process4. By using recycled water
an inescapable resource for paper production. Whether using the mill reduces the manufacturing cost of the paper, therefore
virgin fibres or recycled paper, water plays a key part in producing reducing the price for the end user. Win Win! Finally, one quite
the product we all know and love. Without clean water, the unexpected outcome of water recycling in the paper industry
end product would not possess the properties we have come to has been the creation of new markets, new products and new
expect – it would be grey, grainy and constantly jam in the printer. jobs. This is through industrial symbiosis, where the wastes
With the global population growing, competition for resources or byproducts of one company become the raw materials for
increasing and uncertainty about the effect of climate change, another, and bio refinery which integrates biomass conversion
the pressure on the paper industry to adopt sustainable practice processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, heat, and
has considerably increased. A significant practical challenge is value-added chemicals from biomass5.
that paper production wastewater contains lignin, alcohols and
chelating agents – as unpleasant as they sound, these elements
Conclusions and Moving Forward
can actually change the ecological characteristics of water. As As older mills upgrade their existing plant technology, recycling
knowledge and understanding of the effect of these chemicals water processes are becoming streamlined and integral to the
grew it became clear that the paper industry could not turn a blind production of paper, and not simply an added extra. Through
eye. It is, quite rightly, no longer acceptable that manufacturing supplying and buying sustainable paper from reliable mills and
causes damage and harm. merchants, we can all rest assured that we are doing our bit
to protect the environment through reinforcing and rewarding
Finding Solutions sustainable practice.
The development of sustainable practices in the paper industry
have been motivated not only by the importance of consistently 1 https://www.edie.net/news/4/Pulp-and-paper-industry-switching-to-closed-
producing quality products, but by the need to protect the loop-water-systems-/
reputation of paper itself. Many people are quick to assume 2 https://www.nasa.gov/content/water-recycling/
paper production is all about deforestation, excessive waste
3 http://www.cepi.org/keystatistics2017
and untenable practices. With the importance of corporate
environmental responsibility exponentially growing over the 4 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/
last few years, something I am all too aware of when writing hydropower/
tenders, the paper industry has had to be proactive. To keep up 5 https://www.scionresearch.com/science/bioenergy/towards-biorefining
with this sea change, the paper industry has focused its efforts
on implementing continuing sustainability. Through diversifying
the ingredients of paper, to include quick growing trees such as
eucalyptus and investing in raw water treatment machinery, as an
industry we’re a small but significant player in the push for long-
lasting change. Maisy Griffiths is a Marketing Manager at Springfield Business
Papers. Contact maisy@springfieldpapers.com
The Benefits and Perks
Springfield Business Papers is a framework supplier on the
Using recycled water reduces the energy consumption of the consortia Paper – Print and Specialist framework.
paper mill. Not only does it eliminate the need to transport water
lupc.ac.uk London Universities Purchasing Consortium Winter 2019 15You can also read
