How do you reduce environmental risks from your suppliers?

1 Identify your high-risk suppliers

The first step is to identify which of your suppliers pose the highest environmental risks to your operations. You can use various criteria to evaluate your suppliers, such as their location, industry, compliance records, environmental policies, certifications, and performance indicators. You can also conduct audits, surveys, or interviews to gather more information about their environmental practices and impacts. By identifying your high-risk suppliers, you can prioritize your actions and allocate your resources more effectively.

2 Set clear expectations and standards

The next step is to set clear expectations and standards for your suppliers regarding their environmental performance and compliance. You can communicate your requirements and expectations through your contracts, codes of conduct, policies, or guidelines. You can also provide your suppliers with guidance and support on how to meet your standards and improve their environmental management systems. For example, you can share best practices, tools, training, or incentives with your suppliers to help them reduce their environmental footprint and risks.

3 Monitor and measure your suppliers' performance

The third step is to monitor and measure your suppliers' performance against your expectations and standards. You can use various methods and tools to collect and analyze data on your suppliers' environmental impacts and compliance, such as reports, audits, inspections, ratings, or indicators. You can also use software or platforms to track and manage your suppliers' performance and data in a centralized and transparent way. By monitoring and measuring your suppliers' performance, you can identify gaps, issues, or opportunities for improvement and take corrective or preventive actions.

4 Engage and collaborate with your suppliers

The fourth step is to engage and collaborate with your suppliers to reduce environmental risks and create mutual value. You can establish regular communication and feedback channels with your suppliers to share information, expectations, and results. You can also involve your suppliers in your sustainability and environmental impact initiatives and goals and seek their input and participation. For example, you can co-create solutions, projects, or innovations with your suppliers to address environmental challenges and opportunities.

5 Review and improve your supplier relationships

The final step is to review and improve your supplier relationships based on your performance and impact evaluation. You can use various criteria to assess your supplier relationships, such as their alignment with your values, goals, and standards, their contribution to your sustainability and environmental impact outcomes, their responsiveness to your feedback and requests, and their potential for future collaboration and improvement. Based on your assessment, you can decide whether to continue, modify, or terminate your supplier relationships and take appropriate actions.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?