Sustainable Procurement Training

The integration of sustainability principles into your organisation’s procurement activities and decisions

For most organisations in the built environment, food and beverage, FMCG, aviation and other industries, 80% of their spend is with the supply chain. Procurement is a key player in this process. Subsequently, sustainable procurement is a critical part of client and contractor policies and strategies, which is often reflected in tendering processes.

Many organisations now identify the procurement practices and actions required throughout the supply chain to allow for Value for Money through “smarter procurement”, focusing on issues such as:

Accountability
Transparency
Ethical behaviour
Innovation
Integration
Continual improvement

Sustainable procurement can be a key enabler for your organisation to achieve their sustainability goals and has a number of key benefits for those who adopt it:

Decreased costs – Reducing your waste and energy by utilising more sustainable practices.
Improve reputation – Enhance your organisation’s compliance with regulation and environmental laws.
Reduce your risks – By protecting your organisation against shortage in supply and ensure a flexible supply chain.
Increase revenue – Clients and customers alike are opting for organisation’s who prioritise sustainability in their operations.

ISO 20400

In April 2017, ISO launched the first global sustainable procurement standard to build on, and replace, BS 8903.

The standard applies to any organisation, regardless of sector, size or location, providing:

An understanding of sustainable procurement
Sustainability impacts and considerations across various aspects of procurement activity
Methods of implementing sustainable procurement

The Supply Chain Sustainability School’s delivery partner, Action Sustainability, led the UK delegation to develop the standard and has created a wealth of resources to help businesses align themselves to it.

ISO 20400 Website

Connecting procurement with strategic sustainability

Procurement being the first and last point of call dealing with suppliers and subcontractors have the influence and leverage throughout their process to communicate the sustainability strategy to suppliers so that suppliers can contribute to meeting these goals.