Sustainable Food Purchases 

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is committed to embedding sustainability into its operational practices, including procurement, by prioritising the purchase of products and services from local and sustainable sources. This approach not only strengthens regional economies and supports local livelihoods but also minimizes supply-chain emissions and promotes environmentally responsible production. By integrating sustainability criteria into procurement decisions—such as product lifecycle impact, recyclability, and ethical sourcing—Amrita ensures that institutional operations align with global sustainability principles. These efforts directly contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), reflecting the university’s holistic vision of fostering responsible consumption, sustainable supply chains, and inclusive economic growth within its surrounding communities. 

• Preference for local suppliers (within the region/state) who follow sustainable practices such as low-carbon production, minimal packaging, organic or certified raw materials, and fair labour standards. 
• Integrating sustainability criteria into purchase decisions, such as the life-cycle impact of a product, embodied energy, recyclability, reuse potential, and alignment with circular-economy principles. 
• Collaboration with regional producer-networks, farmers, micro-enterprises and social enterprises to source goods (e.g., food, packaging, consumables, furniture, horticulture supplies) from within the local community. 
• Ensuring transparency and accountability in procurement via the university’s overall “Sustainable Campus Policy (Rev.04, 11 Nov 2023)” which includes guidelines for sustainable operations.  
• Embedding the procurement priority within the broader institutional sustainability agenda, such as the themes of the Amrita School for Sustainable Futures which includes “Sustainable Agriculture & Livelihood” and “Communities” as research themes—signalling a university-wide alignment between operations and academic mission.

• The university includes in its policy document (Sustainable Campus Policy) directives for sustainable departmental operations and resource-efficient procurement (e.g., “sustainable department operation”).  
• Through its agricultural and sustainability-livelihood research programmes, Amrita supports local supply chains and regional producers—creating the platform to source locally produced inputs, horticulture plants, organic compost, and other campus needs from nearby sustainable vendors.
• By prioritising local procurement, the university reduces transport and logistics emissions, supports local livelihoods and regional circular economy loops, and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) and SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth). 
• Over time, this procurement priority helps cultivate stable, sustainable supply-chains of local producers, encourages certification or sustainable practices among vendors, and strengthens the university’s role as anchor institution in the regional economy.