SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT
OFFICE SUPPLIES – Achieving
environmentally sustainable procurement
Doug McLean, CEO of Office Canopy Group,
examines the potential for technology to provide
a manageable solution to the problem of
achieving sustainable procurement in business.
any companies have procurement details on myriad products; furniture, PC company to another,
M
policies in place to improve supplies, work wear, machinery, and so creating multiple
environmental sustainability in the list goes on. These catalogues are orders to one site
their purchasing departments. Whether usually updated at least annually, if not where a single delivery
this mindset is derived from a sense of every season, ensuring that millions of would be the most
ethical corporate responsibility or simply a catalogues are produced in the UK every carbon-friendly option.
concern for the economies of the profit year, and millions more will then need to Suppliers need to
margin, the net result of sustainability is go in the recycling bin. Add to that the rethink their attitude towards the delivery
often the same. time-intensive process of sifting through charge and be more up-front about what
However, the purchase of office each catalogue from every different they are charging. The customer will still
supplies is an area within business that supplier to identify the best deals; is this save money on the price of goods but
often gets overlooked by decision-makers, really the most productive use of employee would then be more aware of the impact
despite the levels of consumption involved time and expertise? of their purchasing decisions. The solution
in this area. Viewed as a necessary evil, By transferring the process to the from the supplier side is to offer a
procurement of commodity goods such as internet and making procurement shopping basket or wish-list utility on the
biros, paper clips and boxes of paper is available through an online portal, that website, which would allow different
rarely governed by any form of policy or same information is available to the buyer departments or users to access the one
procedure; in fact, to afford it one would within a few clicks of a mouse. Literally account and add items as their need
probably invest more time and money hundreds of thousands of goods can be arises. Delivery could then be allocated
than the value of the goods themselves. browsed in electronic format and selected according to a standardised schedule, or
This is an attitude fraught with danger, within a matter of seconds. on a ‘next day, order now’ button for
especially for companies with offices Controlling procurement through strictly urgent requirements.
distributed over multiple locations. With no password-based authorisation also means For a business that wants to ensure its
review strategy in place, a procurement that certain protocols can be assigned sustainable policies are up-to-speed, the
manager can’t possibly establish an according to the company’s sustainable reporting and analysis capabilities of the
honest overview of commodity spend for purchasing policy. Preferred suppliers portal approach can provide a vivid
the corporation. A proportion of that offering the best choice for recycled picture of the performance of the
spend may be going on office supplies to goods, for example, can be mandated via company across the board. The data for
meet a legitimate need, but how much is the portal system to ensure every single transaction can be recorded.
actually going home in the coat pockets of standardisation across the entire When this information is recalled and
staff, or simply lying redundant at the corporation. This specificity can even analysed over a period of time, it can
back of the stationery cupboard? If a narrow down selection to individual offer an invaluable insight into the general
company is to maintain the integrity of brands and types of goods from each efficiency and productivity of an individual
their green credentials, surely they need supplier, which will not only help maintain department or distributed site.
visibility of what products they are a consistent purchasing policy across With improved visibility of preferred
purchasing and how many of them they distributed sites, but can also ensure that ‘green’ suppliers and the impact of a
are actually consuming with purpose? budgets are limited appropriately. more efficient delivery strategy, facilities
The traditional model of stationery Delivery of goods is another aspect of managers can rapidly identify new
supplies and office equipment provision, the procurement process that must be sustainable procurement opportunities.
using paper-based catalogues and considered before a particular supplier is They are empowered with the tools they
telephone ordering, is not particularly preferred and adopted. The majority of need to take responsibility for the
conducive to this transparency. Neither is it companies will advertise ‘free delivery’ sustainability of their stationery and office
structured towards minimising waste or whilst incorporating the delivery cost into supplies procurement on behalf of all
managing consumption. Effective the actual price of the goods. The users in the organisation.
sustainable procurement needs to be customer will generally feel very good By exploring the full potential of the
implemented by the supplier as well as the about the experience, as they feel they are online procurement portal, facilities
purchaser. Could technology possibly offer saving more and more money each time managers can not only differentiate
an alternative solution? they place an order. They will therefore themselves but ensure that their
Stationery and office supplies have no incentive to stockpile orders and organisation is differentiated as
procurement is traditionally the will place orders for single items in environmentally conscious at a level often
responsibility of the office manager, who multiple deliveries without restraint. overlooked by management.
will typically refer to numerous different Furthermore, there is often no cohesion www.ocgplc.com
catalogues from various suppliers for between orders in one department of a
SUSTAINABLE FM | APRIL 2008
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