SUSTAINABILITY
How can procurement get stakeholders on board with sustainability ? Internal stakeholders are under the same pressure as procurement to become more sustainable . There are areas where procurement relies on other functions to be in-step – for example , the R & D department when re-designing products to allow more sustainable sourcing .
It is crucial to boost cross-functional collaboration , share objectives , and create transparent business cases – best practices that leading category management organisations have established already .
We see the bigger challenge with suppliers , especially with SMEs , that may not have the resources and tools to accelerate their decarbonisation efforts .
How can these challenges be overcome ? Working together with suppliers must be orchestrated on different levels . Broader sustainability targets with suppliers need to be anchored at the supplier ’ s board level and be consistent with what the customer company is asking from suppliers across the board .
Open communication is critical , including regular dialogues about mutual expectations , joint ideation on how to become more sustainable , and bestpractice sharing . Sustainability KPIs need to be embedded into the standard KPI systems and reviewed in the quarterly business review with the supplier on a regular basis to drive sustainable , inclusive growth . supplychaindigital . com 115