Written by Marijn Overvest | Reviewed by Sjoerd Goedhart | Fact Checked by Ruud Emonds | Our editorial policy
Sustainable Purchasing — The Ultimate Guide 2025
As taught in the Sustainable Procurement Course / ★★★★★ 4.9 rating
Table of contents
- What is Sustainable Purchasing?
- How to Create A Sustainable Purchasing Strategy
- How to Create A Sustainable Purchasing Strategy
- The 3 Pillars of Sustainable Purchasing
- Benefits of Sustainability in Purchasing
- Creating A Sustainable Purchasing Policy
- 5 Real-Life Examples of Sustainability in Purchasing
- Conclusion
- Frequently asked questions
What is sustainable purchasing?
- Sustainable purchasing aligns sourcing decisions with environmental, social, and economic objectives.
- Sustainable purchasing applies life-cycle assessment to reduce carbon emissions and conserve resources.
- Sustainable purchasing mandates that suppliers adhere to human rights, fair labor practices, and community development.
What is Sustainable Purchasing?
Sustainable purchasing is often confused with sustainable procurement but they are different from one another. Sustainable purchasing refers to the acquisition of goods that are made from recycled content.
These recycled goods are environmentally preferable products and services. This can include bio-based products, energy and water-efficient products, alternative fuel products, products using renewable energy, and alternatives to hazardous chemicals.
Sustainable purchasing evaluates goods and services in a much broader context that goes beyond the costs. It identifies ways to maximize value and minimize the environmental and social impacts throughout a product’s entire life cycle.
It is also concerned with acquiring goods and services that have reduced effects on human health, society, and the environment when compared with competing products or services that have the same use or purpose.
How to Create a Sustainable Purchasing Strategy
A sustainable purchasing strategy ensures that every buying decision advances your organization’s environmental, social, and economic goals. Use these steps to build a clear, actionable roadmap:
1. Align with Business Objectives
Review your company’s mission, values, and sustainability commitments. Ensure purchasing priorities reflect broader goals, whether that’s reducing carbon, supporting local communities, or driving circularity.
2. Engage Key Stakeholders
Gather input from procurement teams, operations, finance, and sustainability leads. Incorporate their insights on risks, opportunities, and critical requirements to secure buy-in.
3. Map Spend Categories and Suppliers
Analyze procurement spend by category and identify suppliers that have the greatest environmental or social impact. Focus initial efforts where you can drive the biggest improvements.
4. Assess Supplier Sustainability Performance
Evaluate existing and prospective suppliers against sustainability criteria, such as emissions, labor practices, and waste management. Use questionnaires, audits, and third-party ratings to benchmark performance.
5. Set Measurable Purchasing Targets
Define SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) tied to your sustainability priorities—e.g., “source 50% of packaging from recycled materials by Q4.” Link each target to clear KPIs.
6. Evaluate Budget, Risks, and Timeline
Quantify cost implications and potential savings. Identify risks, like supply shortages or price volatility, and build in contingency plans. Align timelines with your procurement cycles and budget windows.
7. Implement, Communicate, and Monitor
Roll out your strategy with training, updated policies, and clear governance. Track progress through dashboards or regular reviews, and adjust actions as needed to stay on track with your targets.
The Importance of Sustainability in Purchasing
All goods that a company buys have social and environmental impacts throughout their life cycles. Embracing sustainability in purchasing helps advance sustainable development and the benefits extended beyond the environment, economy, and community.
Sustainable purchasing can also be a wise business decision. By reducing, reusing, and purchasing sustainably, you can conserve the resources of your company and reduce carbon emissions.
The 3 Pillars of Sustainable Purchasing
Sustainable purchasing applies a three-dimensional life-cycle perspective, rather than focusing solely on upfront cost, to ensure every buy delivers environmental, social, and economic value. Below are the three pillars and illustrative purchasing practices for each:
1. Environmental Pillar
Low-carbon sourcing: Prioritize products and services with verified CO₂ reductions over their full life cycle.
Circular materials: Purchase goods made from recycled or renewable inputs (e.g., recycled plastics, FSC-certified wood).
Eco-friendly packaging: Specify minimal, recyclable, or compostable packaging in sourcing agreements.
Water stewardship: Select suppliers with water-efficient processes or closed-loop systems.
2. Social Pillar
Fair labor and human rights: Require supplier certifications for living wages, safe working conditions, and no child labor.
Community impact: Source from local or minority-owned businesses to support regional economic development.
Health & safety standards: Purchase equipment and materials that meet high occupational health and safety benchmarks.
Inclusive procurement: Embed accessibility requirements (e.g., assistive technologies) into purchase specifications.
3. Economic Pillar
Total cost of ownership: Evaluate long-term costs (maintenance, energy use, end-of-life disposal) rather than purchase price alone.
Value for money: Leverage competitive bidding and framework agreements to secure optimal quality-price balance.
Supplier development: Invest in capacity-building initiatives with strategic suppliers (e.g., training on process improvements).
Risk mitigation: Incorporate financial stability, geopolitical, and supply-chain resilience criteria into supplier selection.
Benefits of Sustainability in Purchasing
Here are the essential benefits of sustainability in purchasing. Keep this in mind when thinking of ways to be sustainable when it comes to purchasing.
1. Economic benefits
- Stimulates a strong local economy by supporting local vendors
- Decreases operation, maintenance, replacement, transportation, and waste disposal costs.
- Promotes innovation as more organizations demand and seek sustainable alternatives.
2. Environmental Benefits
- Supports international labor rights and standards worldwide.
- Fosters workers’ safety, wellness, and health.
- Supports vendors that promote accessibility and diversity in the workplace.
- Fosters the development of local social enterprises
3. Social Benefits
- Supports waste reduction, water conservation, and energy conservation.
- Decreases greenhouse gas emissions.
- Reduces pollutants and toxins released in the environment
- Supports products and services that respect biodiversity.
Creating A Sustainable Purchasing Policy
A sustainable purchasing policy sets out your organization’s commitments and guidelines to ensure every procurement decision advances environmental, social, and economic objectives.
It provides a clear framework for selecting goods and services that align with your sustainability ambitions and helps embed accountability across all stakeholders.
The following are the key components in creating a sustainable purchasing policy.
1. Articulate Vision & Principles
Define your overarching sustainability vision and the core principles (e.g., “zero waste,” “fair labor,” “local sourcing”) that will guide all purchasing decisions.
2. Scope & Prioritization
Identify which spend categories, product lines, or supplier groups have the greatest environmental or social impact. Prioritize those areas where improvements will deliver the highest value.
3. Baseline Assessment
Evaluate current procurement practices, supplier performance, and resource allocations to uncover gaps and opportunities for improvement.
4. Measurable Objectives & Targets
Set SMART targets, such as “reduce single-use plastic packaging by 75% within two years” or “source 60% of indirect goods from certified green suppliers by Q4”, and link them to specific KPIs.
5. Roles, Responsibilities & Governance
Assign clear ownership for policy execution: procurement leads, sustainability officers, category managers, etc. Define approval processes, escalation paths, and review cycles.
6. Supplier Engagement & Capacity Building
Communicate your policy requirements to existing and prospective suppliers. Offer guidance, training, or incentives to help them meet your social and environmental standards.
7. Integrated Procedures & Tools
Embed the policy into your RFP templates, contract clauses, compliance checklists, and e-procurement systems to ensure consistent application.
8. Monitoring, Reporting & Review
Establish regular reporting rhythms (e.g., quarterly dashboards, annual sustainability reports) to track progress against objectives. Build in formal review points to update the policy as goals evolve.
9. Continuous Improvement
Use lessons learned, both successes and setbacks, to refine targets, reallocate resources, and drive deeper sustainability gains over time.
By formalizing these elements into a written policy, your organization creates a transparent, repeatable process that not only delivers value for money but also strengthens stakeholder trust and advances your long-term sustainability ambitions.
5 Real-Life Examples of Sustainability in Purchasing
1. IKEA’s FSC-Certified Wood Sourcing
IKEA has committed to sourcing 100% of its wood from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), certified or recycled sources, a goal it first set in 2009 and achieved in 2015. By partnering with FSC-certified suppliers, IKEA ensures that forests are managed to preserve biodiversity, respect the rights of indigenous communities, and maintain long-term ecological balance.
The company also invests in reforestation projects and supports smallholders in gaining certification, strengthening local economies. This approach not only guarantees traceability of raw materials but also sends a clear market signal that large-scale wood purchasers can drive sustainable forestry practices worldwide.
2. Patagonia’s Recycled Materials Initiative
Patagonia sources over 80% of its fabrics from recycled materials, primarily polyester and nylon reclaimed from post-consumer waste such as plastic bottles and discarded fishing nets. Since introducing its first recycled fleece jacket in 1993, the company has continually expanded this program, now diverting millions of pounds of plastic from landfills and oceans each year.
In addition to cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 75% compared to virgin polyester, Patagonia invests in research to improve recycling technologies, sponsors take-back programs for used garments, and encourages customers to repair rather than replace gear, thereby extending product lifecycles and reducing overall material demand.
3. Starbucks’ Ethically Sourced Coffee (C.A.F.E. Practices)
Under its Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices program, Starbucks evaluates suppliers against a comprehensive set of social, economic, and environmental criteria. These include fair wages and working conditions, water usage efficiency, biodiversity conservation on coffee farms, and community development.
By 2020, Starbucks reported that over 99% of its coffee met these standards. The program provides financial incentives (such as premium payments) for farms that exceed the baseline requirements and offers agronomy training to improve yields and climate resilience.
Through this model, Starbucks not only secures high-quality beans but also fosters long-term partnerships with farming communities, enhancing livelihoods and ecological stewardship.
4. HP’s Closed-Loop Plastic Cartridges
HP’s closed-loop recycling program collects used ink and toner cartridges from businesses and consumers in over 50 countries. These cartridges are cleaned, ground, and remanufactured into new HP cartridges containing up to 30% recycled plastic.
By diverting more than 200 million cartridges from landfills annually, HP reduces demand for virgin polymer, lowers energy use in manufacturing by an estimated 10–15%, and cuts carbon emissions associated with raw-material extraction.
The program is supported by HP Planet Partners, a take-back initiative that makes recycling convenient through prepaid shipping or drop-off centers, reinforcing HP’s commitment to circular-economy principles.
5. Unilever’s RSPO-Certified Palm Oil
Unilever has pledged to source 100% of its palm oil from Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), certified plantations, or from smallholders through its Palm Oil Smallholder Inclusion Program. This commitment covers more than 3 million metric tons of palm-derived oils used each year across Unilever’s food and personal-care brands.
RSPO certification requires that plantations prevent deforestation, protect high-conservation-value habitats, and uphold workers’ rights. Unilever also engages in satellite monitoring to verify compliance, funds satellite-based fire detection systems, and supports training programs that help small farmers improve yields without expanding into natural forests.
This multifaceted approach ensures that palm oil purchases do not drive environmental degradation or social injustice.
Conclusion
Delving into sustainable purchasing reveals its pivotal role in supply chain dynamics. The distinction between sustainable purchasing and procurement becomes evident, emphasizing the acquisition of goods with recycled content and environmentally preferable attributes.
Beyond cost considerations, the scope of sustainable purchasing extends to maximizing value and minimizing environmental and social impacts across a product’s life cycle.
For organizations aspiring to bolster their sustainable purchasing strategies, actionable steps are outlined. These encompass internal advocacy, resource utilization, policy formulation, supplier negotiations, and adoption of a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) perspective.
Clear goal-setting, ongoing performance evaluation, and effective communication emerge as critical elements in the pursuit of sustainable purchasing.
In essence, readers are empowered to recognize the significance of sustainable purchasing, urging them to align procurement practices with environmental and social priorities. This serves as a roadmap for companies aiming to contribute to a sustainable future while reaping tangible economic and operational advantages.
After you finish reading this article, you will have a deeper understanding of why companies are adopting sustainability not only in purchasing but also in the supply chain. Thus, allowing you to gain benefits from having a sustainable supply chain
Furthermore, I have created a free-to-download, editable Sustainable Procurement Strategy template. It’s a PowerPoint file that can help you with your sustainable purchasing initiatives. I even created a video where I’ll explain how you can use this template.
Frequentlyasked questions
What is sustainability in purchasing?
Sustainable purchasing refers to the acquisition of goods that are made from recycled content which are environmentally preferable products and services.
What is sustainable procurement?
It finds ways in reducing the environmental impacts of its procedures in the supply chain.
What is the importance of sustainability in purchasing?
By reducing, reusing, and purchasing sustainably, companies can conserve their resources and reduce carbon emissions.
About the author
My name is Marijn Overvest, I’m the founder of Procurement Tactics. I have a deep passion for procurement, and I’ve upskilled over 200 procurement teams from all over the world. When I’m not working, I love running and cycling.