Sustainable Procurement

Sustainable Procurement is the integration of sustainable development and social responsibility in the procurement processes of public and private organizations. It consists of integrating environmental, social and economic criteria into the procurement processes of goods and services , as a means of reducing the environmental impact. In this way, the social benefits and sustainability of organizations are increased throughout the life cycles of the products.

Where to start?

One of the main problems with the implementation of Sustainable Procurement is that in addition to time, it requires a champion or a leader. If the senior executive who initially implemented the policies leaves the organization, corporate practices in this matter may return to their original point. So where to start?

The most relevant factor is to collaborate closely with the executive team to understand the business realities of what is possible and thus ensure that the entire management team is aware of and internalizes the general parameters of what constitutes Sustainable Procurement.

The next great advance is to push the adoption of internal policies and procedures that ensure that management has the courage to be responsible for its functions within the assigned time in aspects such as: visibility, incentives, bonuses, among others. If implementation remains merely within the spectrum of goodwill, sustainable procurement will remain a wish without execution.

Time is the secret. Procurement has many rules and policies, so adding additional environmental and social layers can be a challenge if there is not enough or appropriate time for the implementation of Sustainable Procurement.

The natural consequence of not executing a Sustainable Procurement is that the most ecological products, or their suppliers, are not selected. This generates a great negative impact for the most innovative suppliers who have invested the time, money and energy to propose alternatives in the market.

Common Sustainable Procurement Practices

Standard practices to ensure the integration of sustainable development with Procurement procedures are listed below:

1.Sustainable Procurement Policies.

2.Code of Conduct for suppliers.

3.Characterization of the environmental, social and economic aspects related to products, services and category points in production (ideally based on the life cycle approach).

4.Calculation of the cost of ownership.

5.Integration of sustainable development criteria in bidding processes (e-Procurement) and other phases of the supply chain.

6.Use of a margin of preference.

7.Use of certificates.

8.Performance evaluation of suppliers and contractors.

9.Audit in production processes.

10.Support and development of SME suppliers.

11.General training of all suppliers.

A sustainable procurement process involves 2 different but complementary approaches:

a.By Product: Select products that have the best environmental or social performance in their life cycle or in their cycle phases whose impact is the most significant.

b.By Supplier: Mobilize and select (when appropriate) suppliers that promote gradual management of sustainable development in their sector.

Source: ECPAR.ORG