UNIVERSITY OF XXX
‘WARPit’ Resource Redistribution Network Briefing Paper 12th October 2012
Summary
This briefing paper discusses the procurement of an online resource redistribution
network service provided by WARPit, to assist the University in reducing both its spend
and its environmental impact.
Decisions Required
The Carbon Management Programme Board is requested to make a recommendation
that the Senior Management Team makes mandatory the use of this service prior to all
furniture purchases. The CMPB is also requested to authorise the initial expenditure.
Financial Implications
The financial cost of the service will be £1000/pa. The potential financial savings are
estimated to be in the region of at least £40,000/pa, if not considerably higher.
Further Information
Further information is available from the Procurement Services Manager, the
Environment Manager or the Assistant Environmental Officer.
1.
Introduction
In the last financial year the University spent in the region of £250k on new furniture. It
also disposed of large quantities of furniture which could have been re-used elsewhere.
While staff members often use ‘uni-info’ to redistribute used furniture around the
university, it is done on an ad-hoc basis as there is no formal centralised system to
support and facilitate it.
Due to this lack of formal communication channels, as well as limited storage space
and staff time pressures, the university often has to dispose of reusable surplus
resources simply because a new owner cannot be found quickly and easily.
An on-line resource redistribution network called WARPit has been identified as a
potential solution for reducing both the financial cost and environmental impact of
furniture procurement.
2.
WARPit
WARPit is an easy to use online portal which provides a platform for organisations to
redistribute (give, loan or share) resources legally and conveniently both within the
organisation, and with other organisations.
The tool is designed to help organisations to achieve significant savings on purchasing
and waste disposal costs, as well as reducing their environmental impacts.
WARPit would allow staff to attempt to redistribute unwanted resources within the
university initially, and then open up the offer to other selected organisations if
necessary. Likewise, staff would be able to access unwanted resources from other
organisations unable to redistribute within their own premises. Sussex University has
already signed up, and BHCC has expressed strong interest in the scheme. Both
organisations are keen to share unwanted resources with the University, when unable
to re-home them internally.
Organisations around the UK currently using WARPit range from local authorities,
central government, the NHS, universities, colleges and schools, SME’s and charitable
organisations/groups.
3.
Financial Savings
In the last financial year the University spent in the region of £250k on new furniture.
This figure is based on furniture codes used within the finance system eFin. This is an
estimate based on current procurement records but may well be higher in reality, as for
capital projects the orders for new furniture are often placed by the main contractor, and
therefore do not appear in the University’s procurement records.
Within the first ten purchases of furniture each year, the University will have recouped
the sign-up costs, and it is highly unlikely this will not be achieved within the first few
weeks of the scheme. Beyond these purchases, the university will begin to make
financial savings.
A conservative estimate of a 10-20% reduction in furniture purchases, which the
University should easily achieve through using the WARPit system, would see the
university making a saving of around £25,000-£50,000 each year.
In the best case scenario, if the university were to make savings on the same scale as
Northumberland County Council after signing up to WARPit (a 79% reduction in
furniture procurement costs - see case study below), the University would see an
annual saving of £198,000.
While it is expected that the majority of savings will be made from furniture
redistribution, WARPit would also allow staff to redistribute other unwanted resources
such as office stationery, with potential for further savings.
In addition to reduced spend on procuring new furniture and other resources, there is
likely to be financial benefits in terms of the reduction of staff time currently spent on
completing purchase orders. However, there will also be a limited amount of staff time
required in implementing and using the scheme (uploading furniture details, arranging
transport and collections), so savings here are not expected to be particularly high.
The reduction of waste removal and landfill costs by redistributing furniture and other
resources which would otherwise have been disposed of, should also result in financial
savings for the University. However, landfill costs will not be 100% diminished, as there
may be a certain quantity of damaged items which are not able to be reused.
4.
Environmental impacts
As well as financial savings, there are significant environmental benefits to be achieved
through WARPit.
By reducing the amount of brand new items purchased, the University will be avoiding
the significant carbon emissions and resource depletion created during manufacturing.
Using re-used furniture is by far the most environmentally sustainable way the
University can furnish its buildings, considerably more so that any new furniture made
from sustainably sourced timbers or recycled materials. (‘Re-use’ is above ‘Recycling’
in the waste hierarchy ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, and should therefore be a key
priority.)
WARPit will also allow us to reduce the amount of waste the University send to landfill.
This will help us to meet our own Sustainable Development policy waste targets, as well
as gaining us higher points in the People and Planet Green League.
Carbon emissions resulting from the University’s procurement are not currently included
within the CMP, but have been highlighted as an area to consider including in future.
By helping to reduce our procurement spend, WARPit would assist the University in
reducing these emissions.
5.
Community engagement
There are additional benefits to the University in terms of positive community
engagement opportunities. WARPit will enable the University to donate unwanted
resources to local schools, charities and community organisations when unable to
redistribute within our own premises. This will enable us to give back to the local
community, and develop positive relationships with local residents.
6.
Case studies
Numerous organisations around the country have signed up to WARPit and have seen
significant benefits both in terms of financial savings and environmental impacts, as the
two following case studies demonstrate.
Sunderland City Council (SCC), saved £45,000 within the first nine months of signing
up to WARPit, through reduced procurement of furniture and office resources. In
addition to these financial savings, SCC diverted more than nine tonnes of material
from landfill.
Northumberland City Council (NCC)’s furniture spend was rising prior to joining
WARPit. Between February and June 2011 they spent £78,000 on furniture. The
following year, after joining WARPit, they spent £16,000 in the same period. This was a
79% reduction on the previous year’s spend, despite their upward trend, and with no
significant staff reductions.
7.
Implementation and Policy
Implementation and staff support for the WARPit system will provided by the E&FM
Environment Team, and awareness about the scheme will be raised through the ‘cchange’ campaign and other relevant communication channels.
However, in order to maximise the potential of the scheme and achieve the greatest
financial savings and positive environmental impacts, it will be necessary to mandate
the use of the scheme through policy. Without clear guidance and leadership from
senior management on the wider benefits of using WARPit, it is felt that use may be
sporadic and uptake may be only from those who would already put in the time and
effort to redistribute resources using ‘uni-info’.
8.
Recommendations
The Carbon Management Programme Board is asked to recommend to the Senior
Management Team that:
 It is university policy that it is mandatory to use WARPit to identify suitable
replacement furniture and that new items of furniture are only purchased if
the search is unsuccessful;
 it is University policy that, if staff are unable to find suitable furniture through
WARPit, they consider both the environmental and financial impacts of
purchasing new furniture, and only do so if completely unavoidable.
In addition, the Carbon Management Programme Board is also asked to authorise the
expenditure of £3000 to enter into a contract with WARPit for a period of three years.
This will allow time for awareness and understanding of the scheme to develop across
the university, and give a sufficient period of time to fully assess the impacts on the
scheme on procurement spend and waste levels.
?
Environmental Manager/Procurement Services Manager?
XX/11/12