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Our (Students' Union UCL) partnership with UCL has retained Fairtrade status until 2028!
What is the Fairtrade Award?
In spring 2026, we hosted our biennial NUS Fairtrade audit, with two student auditors trained to audit UCL and Students’ Union UCL efforts to supply Fairtrade and fairly traded products on campus, as well as engage the wider community on ethical supply chains.
In collaboration with Sustainable UCL and Food at UCL, we completed a workbook covering 56 different criteria. This centred around ensuring Fairtrade and fairly traded products were available in our catering outlets, continued engagement of Fairtrade throughout the year, and efforts to promote sustainable food on campus. These are the core areas of Fairtrade compliance and we are pleased to retain our Fairtrade University status.
Learn more through UCL's article, which outlines the award and the actions taken to secure it.
Fairtrade at the Union
Students’ Union UCL supports the principles, ethos and aspirations of Fairtrade and fair trade, and commit to using, selling and promoting Fairtrade and fairly traded products through all of our outlets and relevant activities. We approach fair trade in a holistic manner, where our commitment is not limited to Fairtrade, but fairness and ethical consumption in trade in a broader sense.
Fair wages, ethical trade, and sustainable products are important to our student community. That is why, in line with our commitments to sustainability and ethical procurement and our charitable purpose, all of our commercial outlets offer Fairtrade and fairly traded products as a standard for students on campus.
Examples of Faitrade products we offer: Karma drinks, our teas from Trampoline Teas, chocolate options from Tony's Chocolonely and Divine as well as a range of products offered in the convenience store. In 2025 we also moved to our new sustainable coffee supplier, Volcano Coffee Works.
What's next
We are committed to offering products that are fairly traded and responsibly sourced. We will work to expand the range of sustainable products available across our outlets and integrate fair trade principles into relevant activities where possible.
A more holistic approach to ethical consumption and sustainable food is a priority. Whilst we want to maintain and improve upon our Fairtrade scoring over the years, we also want to reduce single-use plastic in our catering, keep sourcing sustainable food and encouraging other initiatives in line with our sustainability actions and goals.
The Award
"The UCL team's work on Fairtrade is superb and a lot of effort has
Student auditors
clearly been put in to encourage sustainable and ethical
consumption!"
Contributors:
Catherine Savage, Students’ Union UCL
Cicely Collins, G&G
Evan Landy, Sustainable UCL