Over the last few years, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has become an unavoidable topic. Procurement has a major role to play in this area, as CSR affects all stakeholders, both internal and external. Strategic Sourceror shares three procurement best practices to support companies in their CSR strategy.
Participating in sustainable procurement
Before taking up a sustainable procurement strategy, procurement departments must make sure that their company and suppliers are on board with this approach. They can do this by highlighting the financial benefits to be gained by adopting some of these initiatives. Change must made across the board, both internally and externally.
Putting sustainable initiatives in place
In order to contribute to their company's CSR strategy, procurement departments can move towards sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to the products or services they purchase, such as office supplies, hygiene products and energy. To do this, they can contact suppliers directly and include CSR criteria in their calls for tenders.
Becoming an ambassador for sustainable procurement
To go even further, procurement departments must defend sustainable procurement over the long term. This means working with management and suppliers to set goals and performance indicators.
As well as regulatory compliance and cost reduction, sustainable procurement over time can be a real performance lever and make the company stand out in the market. This is the vision of sustainable procurement that procurement departments must convey across their whole network.
