Sustainable Procurement isn't ? Just Going Green
After we won a mentoring contract to accelerate sustainable procurement practices, we found ourselves in a 'selling mode'.
And by 'selling mode' I mean educating the stakeholders about what Sustainable Procurement is all about.
Given the pressure from our ??Planet to become greener and more responsible with how we consume its resources, my business partner and I found ourselves in the position to educate the stakeholders about what Sustainable Procurement means.
What Sustainable Procurement is NOT:
? A short-term fix, a list of green actions
? A list of suppliers that need to improve their carbon footprint or CO2 emissions
? A one-off supplier visit to communicate the company's ESG goals
? A 'green' clause stipulated in the supplier's contract
? Training the procurement team about what ESG is, why SEDEX or Ecovadis are needed
? A strategic plan to address key suppliers' sustainability risks for the next 3-5 years
? A certification or industry standard is required for the supplier to comply with
? A social value selection criteria in the RFP suppliers selection process
Sustainable procurement is much
MUCH MORE..
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Our Planet expects more from procurement than a list of actions.
Define Sustainability
?? Sustainability is the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time.
What procurement organisations need to understand is that you cannot implement a Sustainable Procurement Ambition without the basics in place.
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Sustainable procurement efforts risk being fragmented or unsustainable, inconsistent without the basics in place.
What are the basics required to implement Sustainable Procurement?
? Procurement Spend Compliance, Policy Framework
? Suppliers selection criteria and tracking tools are essential for consistent application of sustainability standards
? Buy-in from leadership, procurement and suppliers
? Procurement KPIs, data and metrics to demonstrate value or progress in sustainability
? Procurement team's capability build and competency matrix to include sustainability capability & goals. Procurement needs to perform the basics of supplier reviews, supplier visits, and supplier relationship management to start communicating standards.
? Procurement teams scaled up for sustainable supplier relationships, and mentored on Sustainable procurement, on tools (Sedex, Ecovadis, on the importance of joined sustainable plans, suppliers visits).
? Suppliers partnerships to share your values. Procurement needs to overcome challenges like why onboarding onto Sedex/Ecovadis is important, and why performance reviews are important.
CONCLUSION
While it's possible to initiate sustainable practices without all the basics in place, scaling and embedding sustainability requires strong foundational procurement practices.
Starting with the procurement basics (assuming there are gaps) ensures that sustainability efforts are both credible and impactful.
It's like one diet can get you to lose weight but you need a consistent lifestyle change for the long term to ensure both health and physical well-being.
Wishing you personally and professionally sustainable changes ↗?↗?↗?????
For long-term sustainable and impactful changes in procurement and supply chain, don't hesitate to contact us, Vlad Gradinariu Ana-Maria Velica ??
Sustainable Procurement has a triple bottom line of
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article written by the founder Ana-Maria Velica