SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT
CAN YOU PROVE
YOUR BUSINESS
IS PURCHASING
SUSTAINABLY?
Philip Emsley, Director & COO at Green 2020
o you have been asked to value, total lifecycle cost and supplier government
S
reduce the Carbon Footprint of relationship management because buying buyers access to
your organisation, and your sustainable goods can actually save the carbon
board has appointed you head money and increase efficiency right across ratings of
of sustainability. Whether it is to the supply chain. suppliers and
meet the criteria in Agenda 21, to achieve Sustainable procurement is still be able to
ISO14001, or your clients expect it of you, referred to as the purchasing of wind make valued
where do you start and how do you prove farms and ground source heat pumps, but decisions when
you are achieving success? it is much more fundamental than that, it selecting a
Sustainability programmes will, if is the process of selecting suppliers and supplier for a
done correctly, impact every individual products that have excellent environmental particular good
whom either works for you, supplies to credentials. An environmentally sound or service. Of
you or buys from you and it is this scale of product is one that has been developed course there are
the challenge that is becoming and manufactured with sustainability in data validation
problematic. It goes without saying that mind and one that has come from a services to
this is most certainly not a project; it is a supplier who has controlled and reduced check the authenticity of the data provided
long term programme that will have their own carbon emissions, saved on but more importantly services to help
permanent and hopefully positive energy and optimised their manufacturing suppliers improve their score.
ramifications for your business or process so that it operates in an efficient, Green 2020 is working with five
organisation. More often than not a cost managed and environmentally spend management companies to be able
project based approach to sustainability positive way. to provide supplier environmental
programme fails, because it is perceived Green 2020 recently partnered with performance data (SEP), which suggests
as short term and because it is more than ProcServe a PA Consulting business and that buyers are becoming aware of not
just light bulbs, switching off PC’s and global consultancy. ProcServe has a only the green imperatives of buying
saving on water by turning off taps, it is a contract in place with the Office of sustainably but also recognise that a
cultural change from the very top to the Government Commerce to provide a green business is also an efficiently run
very bottom of the organisation and most national electronic procurement trading business and there is a good chance that
importantly to the external stakeholders of platform for public sector organisations their products might be cheaper, more
your organisation, including your called Zanzibar. Within Zanzibar are some durable and have a longer life span.
suppliers. of the UK’s largest government agencies The next step for suppliers is to score
At Green 2020 we have always plus one thousand four hundred of their the carbon rating of the goods and
believed that a truly sustainable business suppliers – providing everything from services that they sell, and Green 2020 is
is one that starts by procuring goods and stationery to carpets to medical supplies. already embarking on such a programme,
services sustainably, one that recognises In February this year ProcServe partnered deemed by the client as giving them not
that by procuring sustainably the entire with Green 2020 to offer to the suppliers just competitive advantage but also seen
supply chain will experience a cascading environmental services that will help them as the corner stone of what they describe
effect of sustainable purchasing practises not only reduce carbon emissions but to as a truly sustainable organisation.
and more importantly will influence the improve their overall environmental Green 2020 is a specialist supply
manufacturing, design and development credentials. chain environmental consultancy and
of current and future products right to the ProcServe adopted a tool called software house with clients in the
raw materials end of the supply chain. Carbonalysis, developed by Green 2020, pharmaceuticals, banking and
The construction and retail industries designed so that it can measure multiple consulting sectors. Further details can be
are leaders in this space as they have organisations carbon footprints across the obtained at www.green2020.co.uk or by
either been forced by government entire supply chain and across the globe. calling 01223 714928.
legislation to build with sustainability in It encourages suppliers to self assess their
mind or have seen the commercial carbon footprint from which they will be
opportunities of developing, branding and awarded a performance grade from A to
selling “green” goods. Green 2020 have G based on their carbon footprint score,
drawn parallels between the eProcurement rather like a credit rating. This rating can
revolution days and sustainable then be published within the supplier
purchasing by taking into account best catalogue management tool giving
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SUSTAINABLE FM | APRIL 2008
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