What is sustainable procurement?

Sustainable procurement focuses on purchasing services and products consciously that are created in socially responsible ways, aligning with business sustainability. It is about more than just selecting the right suppliers. Instead, businesses must consider a product’s life cycle and its negative impact on the planet. 

Ultimately, sustainable procurement helps businesses achieve their environmental goals and operate more sustainably. Therefore, if you want to make your business greener, looking at your procurement and implementing sustainable procurement is a great place to begin. 

About sustainable procurement

Sustainable procurement is a means of buying services and products that consider the social and environmental effects of an organisation’s purchasing decisions at all times. Adopting a sustainable procurement policy means embedding values important to the business in the organisation’s supply chain into the life cycle of the organisation’s services and products. 

It refers to planning for a changing climate and a socially beneficial and inclusive society. Sustainable procurement sees brands future-proof the company’s investments and chain of supply to ensure they are all viable in the long term. The process of sustainable procurement combines social, governance, and environmental factors into the procurement process, whilst also ensuring they still meet stakeholder requirements. 

Essentially, it’s about making decisions that will benefit the organisation and society and minimise your environmental footprint. Some actions of sustainable procurement can include cutting down on energy consumption, using ethically sourced materials, reducing carbon emissions, and making shipping practices more efficient and streamlined. 

Why does sustainable procurement matter?

There is a significant demand now for sustainable products and processes. The main reason for this is that creating more eco-conscious products and implementing sustainable processes can help us reduce our impact. For example, by reducing waste and enhancing resource efficiency.

Sustainable procurement also helps minimise energy consumption and carbon emissions. Additionally, it will help you comply with environmental guidelines. Therefore, incorporating sustainable procurement practices into your business will put less strain on the planet. In the UK, the Procurement Act places greater emphasis on environmental and social value in public contracts, requiring businesses to integrate sustainability into their procurement processes to remain competitive and compliant.

However, sustainable procurement has many other benefits besides saving the planet. For instance, it helps your business to comply with laws and regulations and ensures security and continuity of supply. You will also be able to manage your reputation and customer perceptions better. Implementing socially responsible, sustainable procurement practices will help you minimise business risks, facilitate access to capital, and better control costs. Sustainable procurement eliminates child labour, ensures workers get a living wage, and involves employees in essential community projects.

Organisations that implement sustainable procurement generally also invest in projects that improve the lives of many members of our society. Ultimately, sustainable procurement adheres to the 3P or triple bottom line approach, as it is often known – people, planet, and profit. In other words, business leaders can do environmental and social good while still carrying out their business operations and making a profit. 

Summary

Sustainable procurement is a vital step in aligning with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) strategy. It enables organisations and industries to take the lead in reversing climate damage. Additionally, sustainable procurement reveals the organisation is entirely aware of future impacts and takes them into account when making purchasing decisions. 

Gain the knowledge to align procurement and reporting practices with CSRD requirements — enrol in our CPD-certified CSRD training and empower your team to drive compliance and impact.