The TMU community is invited to provide feedback on the university’s draft social procurement policy

TMU's Social Purchasing Working Group has been meeting regularly to develop a social procurement policy for the university that aims to leverage its institutional purchasing power for social, environmental and economic good. 

TMU’s social procurement policy will see the implementation of strategies and procedures that strive to create new opportunities to engage with diverse suppliers and small sized businesses, including businesses that are majority owned, managed and controlled by Indigenous and equity-deserving communities.

Members of the TMU community are invited to review and provide feedback on the draft social procurement policy until 5 p.m. on September 13, 2023.

Overview of key policy points

TMU’s social procurement policy will:

• Empower the university to leverage its purchasing power to create social, sustainable and economic value within diverse communities by broadening the opportunities for diverse suppliers and small sized businesses within the university’s supply chain.
• Define institutional criteria for what constitutes a diverse supplier or small sized business with respect to social procurement. 
• Include an institutional commitment to review commercial terms and evaluation selection processes to provide new opportunities for diverse suppliers and small sized businesses.
• Encourage departments to source quotes from at least one diverse supplier or small sized business for contracts and purchases under $100,000 CAD.
• Encourage Purchasing Services to develop procurement strategies that provide opportunities for diverse suppliers and small sized businesses. 

In the coming months, the Social Purchasing Working Group will be developing and sharing a social procurement playbook with tools and mechanisms for departments to incorporate social procurement into their purchasing decisions.

Provide feedback by September 13

The Social Purchasing Working Group is accepting community feedback on the draft policy until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. Your responses to the feedback form will be kept confidential and will not be shared beyond the Social Purchasing Working Group.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the draft social procurement policy or the feedback process, please contact Vincenzo Carinci, director of strategic procurement and payment services, at vcarinci@torontomu.ca.