Implementing Sustainable Procurement Strategy — Embracing Sustainability
Implementing a sustainable procurement strategy to your procurement process is crucial for you to be successful with your sustainable goals. However, how can you implement it correctly?
We, the team of procurement tactics, are happy to help you by discussing first what a sustainable procurement strategy is and its importance in procurement. We will also show you where you can optimize for sustainability within the procurement process to effectively implement your procurement process.
After reading this article, you will gain a deeper understanding of how important it is to execute your sustainable procurement strategy correctly. Thus, you can avoid any risk that you may face when implementing it in your procurement process.
Sustainable Procurement Strategy: What is it?
Before we discuss what sustainable procurement strategy is, we must first know what sustainability means in procurement.
Sustainable procurement refers to the acquisition of goods or services that have less environmental and social impacts. It involves selecting suppliers that meet the sustainable criteria or standards of your company to help you with your goal of achieving sustainability.
Now that you know what sustainable procurement is, let us now move on to defining what sustainable procurement strategy is.
A sustainable procurement strategy directs the company to realize its sustainability vision or goals. It outlines the organization’s procurement objectives and directions will be carried out through a detailed action plan.
A sustainable procurement strategy takes into consideration the environmental, social, and economic impacts of purchased or created products and services throughout their entire lifecycle.
Thus, the goal of the procurement department is to improve and ensure sustainability within its processes by implementing a sustainable procurement strategy.
Furthermore, a sustainable procurement strategy ensures that the procurement processes support the organization’s goals and objectives in achieving sustainability.
The Importance of Executing Your Sustainable Procurement Strategy Correctly
A sustainable procurement strategy allows businesses to push for sustainability while also ensuring that the company meets its goals and objectives. Thus, executing the strategy properly is crucial to the success of a business in achieving its sustainable goals.
Executing your sustainable procurement strategy properly helps businesses to know that all the techniques and strategies that they formulated are being implemented in the procurement process. Thus, it limits errors and develops a working standard for all employees.
Additionally, properly implementing the strategy can help mitigate risks associated with environmental, social, and economic issues.
The sustainable procurement strategy allows businesses to comply with the regulations and laws of a country, preventing them from having legal liabilities and reputational risks associated with non-compliance.
Furthermore, implementing the strategy in your procurement processes can lead to cost savings by reducing waste, improving the procedures, and minimizing the negative impacts on the environment and society.
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Tips for Implementing Your Sustainable Procurement Strategy
As a procurement manager, it is important to know the areas in your procurement where you can improve or optimize so you can implement your sustainable procurement properly:
1. Prequalification stage
As a procurement manager, only invite suppliers who can fulfill a certain standard in terms of sustainability to submit proposals; for example, suppliers must have an EMS with CO2 reduction targets.
By only inviting suppliers who can fulfill your sustainability standards, it will be much easier for you to implement your procurement strategy as their working procedures are aligned with yours.
2. Specification or mandatory requirement
The sustainability requirement specification specified in the Invitation to offer must be met by suppliers.
They will not be evaluated if this condition is not met, such as if all provided products must be energy-star rated. The specification must also contain desirable sustainability requirements so that suppliers’ submissions can be assessed.
Ensuring suppliers meet desirable sustainability requirements before getting evaluated will enable you to reduce the risks of supplier fraud or non-compliance. Thus, you will be able to implement your strategy in your procurement process better.
3. Evaluation
Suppliers must address the desired sustainability requirements, and responses to the offers will be taken into account when evaluating and choosing a successful supplier.
Ask suppliers to suggest, for instance, the products that are the most energy efficient within their range, and these will be graded as part of the evaluation process. This will not just help you implement your strategy but also find areas to improve your current strategy.
4. Negotiation
Talk about how the deal might evolve to provide more sustainably produced items over time. For instance, suppliers must gradually increase the percentage of sustainably produced goods they supply as part of the deal.
Locking the deal where both you and the supplier are satisfied with the result will allow you to get your needed materials or services faster. Thus, there will be no delay in your procedures which will allow your strategy to be executed smoothly.
5. Contract management
Make use of clauses in contracts to guarantee a certain level of sustainability performance. Instead, collaborate with suppliers to gradually and collectively improve the sustainability performance of given goods and or services throughout the duration of the agreement/contract.
Do you want to learn more about executing your strategy correctly to achieve sustainability in your procurement? Then look no further. Our Sustainable Procurement Course will help you with everything you need to learn about executing sustainability in your procurement process. Enroll now!
Frequentlyasked questions
+ What is sustainable procurement?
It refers to the acquisition of goods or services that have less environmental and social impacts.
+ What is a sustainable procurement strategy?
It is a document that outlines the organization’s procurement objectives and directions will be carried out through a detailed action plan.
+ How to implement my procurement strategy correctly?
To execute your strategy correctly, you must first look at each stage in the procurement process that you can improve. By doing this, you are allowing yourself to smoothly incorporate your strategy into a specific procurement stage.
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