UK universities are giving Amazon £21m a year, despite boycott calls

New research from Ethical Consumer shows that across 88 UK universities, over £63 million was spent with corporate giant Amazon over the last three years. The average annual spend in England was £267,558 for 2024. The most a university spent was £2 million in one year.

Amazon: laughing all the way to the bank

Ethical Consumer obtained this information by submitting 133 freedom of information requests, asking for details of their spending with Amazon over the previous three financial years.

Ethical Consumer Researcher, Yalda Keshavarzi says:

What may appear to be a small choice is, in reality, an endorsement of a supplier and their ethical framework. One which has been well documented and repeatedly criticised as it drives exploitative working conditions, aggressive tax avoidance and environmental harm. Continued spending sends a message that these practices are acceptable, even as many universities publicly claim to distance themselves from unethical supply chains.

Some of the universities with the highest spend with Amazon, which has been increasing year on year, were:

• The University of Liverpool, which spent £1.2 million in 2024.
• The University of Sheffield, which spent £1.5 million in 2024.
• UCL, which spent £1.7 million in 2023.
• Kingston University, which spent £2 million in 2022.

This research builds on a similar freedom of information request that was conducted in 2022. The combined data shows that 59% of universities have increased their spending with Amazon over the last five years, with many institutions using them to incentivise student engagement.

The growing use of Amazon Web Services (AWS), a key profit driver for Amazon, has also surged at some universities. University of Leicester stands out with over £1 million in AWS spending.

Where’s the boycott?

Amazon has been criticised recently by the Fair Tax Foundation for failing to disclose their total profits in the UK and consequently the corporation tax required. This is despite numerous calls for greater transparency from tax justice campaigners. Many universities are citing financial difficulties in recent years due to a reduction in government funding and inflationary pressures, which is now being investigated by the UK government.

Ethical Consumer has been running a Boycott Amazon campaign since 2012, primarily due to their tax avoidance practices. It calls on universities to stop buying from Amazon now and look for alternatives to incentivise students.

Featured image via the Canary