What are some of the best practices and standards for sustainable procurement?

1 Assess your current situation

Before you can implement sustainable procurement, you need to understand your current performance, gaps, and opportunities. You can use various tools and frameworks to conduct a self-assessment, such as the ISO 20400:2017 guidance on sustainable procurement, the Sustainable Procurement Benchmark (SPB), or the UN Global Compact Self-Assessment Tool. These tools can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, set priorities and objectives, and measure your progress and impact.

2 Align with your strategy and stakeholders

Sustainable procurement should be aligned with your overall corporate sustainability strategy and vision, as well as the expectations and needs of your internal and external stakeholders. You can use the materiality analysis to identify the most relevant environmental, social, and economic issues for your business and your supply chain, and to engage with your stakeholders to understand their perspectives and interests. You can also use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reference to align your procurement activities with the global agenda and to communicate your contribution.

4 Manage your suppliers and risks

Another key element of sustainable procurement is to manage your suppliers and risks effectively. This means that you should establish clear expectations and requirements for your suppliers, monitor and evaluate their performance and compliance, and support them to improve their sustainability practices and capabilities. You can use various tools and platforms to manage your suppliers and risks, such as the EcoVadis sustainability rating system, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX), or the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) code of conduct.

5 Collaborate and innovate

Sustainable procurement is not a one-way process, but a collaborative and innovative one. This means that you should seek to build long-term and trust-based relationships with your suppliers, customers, peers, and other stakeholders, and to leverage their knowledge, expertise, and resources to create shared value and solutions. You can use various platforms and initiatives to collaborate and innovate, such as the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, or the Circular Economy 100 (CE100) network.

6 Communicate and report

The last element of sustainable procurement is to communicate and report your activities, achievements, and challenges. This means that you should be transparent and accountable for your procurement decisions and impacts, and that you should share your best practices, learnings, and stories with your stakeholders and the public. You can use various channels and formats to communicate and report, such as your website, social media, newsletters, case studies, or sustainability reports.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?