🌱 Sustainable procurement: the process of integrating environmental, social, and economic considerations into the procurement strategy, policies, processes, and workflows of organisations. It encompasses a holistic approach that aims to minimise negative impacts and maximise positive outcomes throughout the supply chain.
💡 It’s as simple – or as complex – as that.
🤝 The challenge, of course, is bringing along your stakeholders – Board, technical colleagues, and suppliers – champions, critics, supporters – and actually evidencing the value of sustainability in your procurement practices.
🏢 Experience of inculcating sustainable procurement has focused on managing Infrastructure, Real Estate, and Capital Projects. Provided here are practical examples of sustainable procurement actions and deliverables, categorised.
🌍 Environmental Considerations:
Infrastructure: Incorporating energy-efficient design features, using LED lighting systems, solar panels, and rainwater harvesting systems in building construction.
Real Estate: Implementing green building certification LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) – more on certifications later – to ensure environmentally responsible practices in construction and operation.
Capital Projects: Prioritising in the statement of work and tender evaluation model the use of sustainable building materials, such as recycled or locally sourced materials, to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects.
👥 Social Considerations:
Infrastructure: Ensuring fair labour practices by working with contractors and suppliers that provide fair wages, safe working conditions, and comply with labour regulations – cross-referenced as a contractual obligation.
Real Estate: Promoting diversity and inclusivity in RFI and subsequent contract award decisions by partnering with contractors, architects, and consultants that prioritise diverse hiring practices and create accessible spaces for all.
Capital Projects: Engaging online and face-to-face events with local communities affected by the project, conducting impact assessments, and involving stakeholders in decision-making processes to address their concerns.
💰 Economic Considerations:
Infrastructure: Evaluating life cycle costs (not just purchase price) when selecting materials and technologies to identify cost-effective solutions that provide long-term savings in energy consumption and maintenance.
Real Estate: Incorporating energy-efficient systems, such as HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) and smart building technologies, to reduce operational costs and increase energy efficiency – strong reliance here on nurturing relationships with your technical colleagues in building the SOW.
Capital Projects: Supporting suppliers with sustainable business practices, such as those with renewable energy commitments or those that promote circular economy principles, to contribute to the overall economic sustainability of the project, see certifications and standards, below.
🔍 Supply Chain Transparency:
Infrastructure: Implementing robust supplier assessment processes, including tailored PQQ to evaluate and select contractors and suppliers based on their sustainability performance, environmental impact, and adherence to ethical practices.
Real Estate: Tracking and documenting the origin and environmental impact of building materials, such as wood sourcing from sustainably managed forests, to ensure transparency and responsible sourcing.
Capital Projects: Collaborating with supply chain partners to monitor compliance with sustainability standards, such as ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System), and promoting transparency through regular reporting on sustainability metrics.
🤝 Stakeholder Engagement:
Infrastructure: Engaging local communities and stakeholders through public consultations, incorporating their feedback, and seeking to address their concerns in project planning and design.
Real Estate: Creating spaces that foster community engagement, incorporating green spaces/shaded spaces, community facilities, and amenities that promote social and family interaction and well-being.
Capital Projects: Collaborating with suppliers and contractors to identify opportunities for social impact, providing training and employment opportunities for local residents during construction.
⚠️ Caveat emptor! Buyer beware…the lack of standardised guidelines, appetite of stakeholders and the potential for greenwashing pose challenges that you must navigate.
🔒 Part solution? Robust supplier evaluation processes, establishing clear sustainability criteria, and prioritising transparency in decision-making rationale. Collaborative initiatives, such as industry-wide standards and certifications, can help establish benchmarks and provide assurance to stakeholders.
Here are some certifications and standards that have proven useful, considering their application in various projects. It’s important to carefully assess their robustness:
ISO Twenty-Four-Hundred – guidelines to integrate sustainability principles into their procurement processes. Opinion: a useful framework covers various aspects of sustainable procurement.
LEED Certification – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green building certification system that includes sustainable procurement criteria for construction and real estate projects. Opinion: clear guidelines for sustainable material sourcing and environmental performance.
Fairtrade International: certification ensures that producers and workers in developing countries receive fair prices and wages, improving social and economic conditions. Opinion: well-established with a focus on addressing social injustices in supply chains, making it a robust certification for promoting fair labour practices.
Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC) certification verifies wood and wood-based products are sourced from responsibly managed forests, promoting sustainable forestry practices. Opinion: a rigorous auditing and certification process, including stakeholder consultation and compliance with defined criteria.
B Lab B Corp Certification assesses an organisation’s overall social and environmental performance, including procurement practices. Opinion: based on a holistic assessment of an organisation’s sustainability performance, covering multiple areas beyond procurement, noting the threshold score is for certification is some 40% and uneven. A useful step forward.
EU Ecolabel certifies products and services have a reduced (which is defined at different thresholds) environmental impact throughout their life cycle, including procurement considerations. Opinion: science-based, and transparent with a rigorous evaluation process, making it a reliable certification for sustainable procurement in the European Union.
Bringing it all together:
💪 Sustainable procurement isn’t easy, but it’s crucial. It involves considering the environment, society, and economics in decision-making.
🌍 It requires finding suppliers who align with sustainability goals, as well as persuasively convincing support from your Board and colleagues, to ensure transparency in the supply chain, and making responsible choices.
🌱 Despite the challenges, sustainable procurement has the power to drive positive change and create a more sustainable future.
Please add comments from your own experience as a sustainable procurement advocate – always learning!
📢 Start a conversation on how RESKIND supports your sustainable procurement journey : adriana.mutiu@reskind.com