Purchase sustainably from UNSW’s Winc preferred basket

It’s now easier to make sustainable choices for your office, kitchen and stationery supplies. 

UNSW’s Winc catalogue now includes a ‘preferred basket’ designed to make it easy to buy environmentally and socially responsible office supplies.

What has changed?

The Winc Xpress form page has been thoughtfully curated to help you choose products that align with UNSW’s commitment to sustainability and social impact. These products feature:

• reduced packaging
• renewable and/or recyclable materials
• third-party sustainability certifications
• support for Indigenous businesses
• social returns reflecting UNSW’s dedication to social procurement and impact.

How do you use it?

Accessing UNSW’s preferred basket is simple:

1. Log in to the Winc platform via UNSW’s online catalogues (accessible from ‘My Finance – Buy from UNSW’s online catalogues’).

2. Click ‘Shop now’ on the ‘UNSW’s preferred basket’ yellow banner or navigate back to the basket via ‘Shop by –> Browse Categories –> Xpress forms’

   

3. Look for items tagged with a ‘c’ in the top-right corner of the item preview. These are part of the preferred basket.

If you need to select items outside the preferred basket, prioritise those marked with the ‘Earth Saver’ and/or ‘Supplier Diversity’ icons to make environmentally and socially conscious choices.

What are the benefits?

By selecting items from within UNSW’s preferred basket, you are helping UNSW achieve our social and environmental goals detailed in UNSW’s Sustainable Procurement Framework.

For example, choosing Zoetic Organic & Fairtrade English Breakfast tea rather than Twinings supports sustainable tea production, protecting your health, improving farmers’ livelihoods and reducing pesticide use for a healthier planet.

Make every purchase count

Every purchase you make can have an impact on UNSW’s environmental and social sustainability goals. 

After the launch of the basket in October 2024, the percentage of Earth saver products purchased increased to 29% of total purchases in November 2024. Let’s aim for 50% this year!

To maximise your purchase impact:

• order only what you truly need
• coordinate with your department to prevent duplicate purchases
• consolidate orders with others and stock up on regularly used items to reduce deliveries and the associated carbon footprint
• choose products from the preferred basket to support sustainable procurement.

Together, we can amplify UNSW’s positive environmental and social impact with every dollar spent.