Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

APUC aims to lead and support Scotland’s universities and colleges in delivering demonstrable best value from advanced procurement, ensuring best practice across all procurement activities, and meeting the key performance indicators of the McClelland Report on Public Sector Procurement in Scotland.

In pursuit of this objective, we will take account of our economic, social and environmental impacts in the way we operate – maximising the benefits and minimising the downsides.

As a socially responsible business that is constantly striving to apply best practice to all of its operations, we are committed to moving beyond a base of legal compliance on CSR matters to integrating socially-responsible behaviour into our core values.

Therefore, in addressing both our own competitive interests and the interests of wider society, we will strive in all of our dealings to:

• achieve high quality in our work and to have high expectations of our staff, Directors and others;
• be innovative and imaginative;
• be open and transparent in our operations and communicate well;
• adopt a partnership approach;
• value the contribution of our staff and the staff of colleges, universities and other stakeholders and be a good employer;
• act with integrity at all times and be fair and even-handed in our dealings with colleges, universities, suppliers, and other stakeholders;
• respect and promote equality of opportunity and diversity;
• encourage sustainability and sustainable development;
• use the resources made available to us efficiently and effectively and always act in the public interest; and
• act with courtesy at all times.

We believe that this approach will produce sound business benefits, as well as being the correct way in which the company should operate from an ethical viewpoint.