Sustainable Procurement helps responsible organisations to integrate sustainability into their organisation and extend their influence through the supply chain. A  new Standard on Sustainable Procurement, ISO 20400,  has recently been released. The Sustainable Procurement Standard provides guidance to organisations, assisting them to make better purchasing decisions by assessing the sustainability and ethics of their suppliers.

There are many examples of companies who have been caught out by failing to conduct due diligence on their suppliers. For example,  Apple was exposed for the poor treatment of Chinese manufacturers of their electronics  goods;  Nike has been accused of exploiting workers and used the poor excuse that they had no control over the work conditions of companies contracted to them;  Officeworks suffered from protests when it sourced paper from suppliers who in turn sourced timber from forests that were home to the near threatened leadbeater’s  possum.

Organisations risk damage to their own reputations and businesses when they do not ask the right questions of their suppliers, are ignorant of their activities, or make the excuse that they are not part of the company so not their responsibility.

ISO 20400 helps organisations manage the financial, environmental and reputational risks that procuring from a poor supply chain can bring by establishing  guidelines to help organisations assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of their suppliers and implement sustainable procurement processes.