Financial Services manager Stephen Hall said the university was ordering carbon neutral paper through Uniprint and now used the paper for 98% of its needs.
He told the Otago Bulletin it was not only having a "huge environmental impact", it was also saving money.
Since changing office product suppliers, almost 33% of the University's office product purchases had been more eco-friendly options, and 38.6% were fair trade products.
About four years ago, the university switched to NXP — a supplier of business consumables — partly because it had an eco-friendly range of about 4000 products.
"It’s something our university is helping drive in the market. We’re already making great progress.
"Single-use plastic is also being driven out, replaced by bamboo and compressed paper. We’re led by what our university and the sector believes is value, and there’s value in sustainability.
"Relationships with suppliers are key to that and we partner with them to achieve great things."
University of Otago sustainability office head Ray O’Brien said the university spent a lot of money on office supplies, and how that money was spent had the potential to have a massive impact.
"It’s an emerging area where we don’t have someone to copy, so we need to be prepared to take the lead by ensuring our spending has the most social and environmental benefit possible."
Mr Hall said the university's e-waste contract was with Dunedin’s Cargill Enterprises which employs more than 80 people with intellectual disabilities, and many cleaning materials were from Will and Able which aims to create 100 new jobs for Kiwis with disabilities while making earth-friendly products.
"When purchasing the university's electricity supply, how the contract would enhance our sustainability was 20% of the consideration; and for cleaning contracts, 10%.
"Other contracts — such as milk, IT hardware, and food — have a strong focus on reducing waste."
To switch to low-emission electric vehicles, the university’s sustainability office had been working with departments this year to access funding to help cover the higher initial cost of buying them, Mr Hall said.
