Processes within companies are undergoing major transformations and the way organizations look at their production chain and relationships with suppliers today is also changing.
O product life cycle, for example, is designed in a sustainable way from the extraction of raw materials to their final disposal. See a manual on how companies should proceed to Include sustainability criteria when making your purchases. Check out!
Engagement of the company's senior management
The involvement of the company's senior management in the incorporation of sustainability practices directly influences the guidelines that other areas of the organization receive regarding them, and also on what they are expected to apply on the topic.
In this way, the involvement and direction of senior management represents essential support, which supports the development of its practices. As senior positions within the organization show interest in including this type of initiative, the entire team of employees becomes infected and embraces the cause, optimizing and accelerating the process of insertion into the company's processes.
Training and alignment of the purchasing team
It is vitally important that the purchasing team is aware of the importance of implementing sustainability criteria the company's acquisition process. This requires, for example, that the team knows concepts such as:
- – materiality;
- – reports;
- – company sustainability guidelines and policies;
- – greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
This way the dialogue with this topic will be richer, directly reflecting on the choice and evaluation of selection criteria in a way that is more connected with the business and the reality of the market.
Communication between the two areas – purchasing and sustainability – is essential to ensure coherence in the preparation of the supplier selection rationale. The sustainability area contributes to clarifying the company's material items and defining the scope of selection criteria.
When the two sectors create a harmonious relationship, concepts are applied more easily, making the process optimized and easier to understand.
Relationship with suppliers
To establish a good relationship with suppliers in a transparent manner, it is essential to prepare a communication plan in order to inform them of the evaluation criteria to which they will be subjected.
This guarantees a healthy relationship between the parties and also encourages the proactivity of those who do not yet meet the standards required by the organizations.
To expand the communication channels with suppliers, it is interesting to adopt:
- – supplier portals;
- – workshops;
- – individual meetings.
It is also common for companies to question the veracity of information provided by their partners and suppliers. It is possible to reduce the risk of using information that does not correspond to reality across:
- – request for documentary evidence such as certificates;
- – visits to supplier plants;
- – internet searches;
- – voluntary declarations.
One of the main objectives is to make most processes sustainable, not just purchasing. Therefore, the supplier engagement It becomes an additional gain if they adhere to sustainable initiatives and practices, providing improvements in reducing both social and environmental impact.
Materiality matrix
The company's materiality matrix is one of the inputs necessary to prepare the proposed purchasing rationale. It is essential that it is structured and accessible to the person directly responsible for purchases.
For example, if it is defined that only products with a design designed to reduce their environmental impact within a “life cycle” can be purchased, it is essential that those responsible for determining the organization's purchases are aware so that they can choose those that meet the standards required by the company.
If the company does not use this tool, it is recommended that it be developed under the sustainability leadership of the organization so that it can serve the purchasing process.
Engaging the company's senior management, training the purchasing team, establishing a dynamic and transparent relationship with suppliers through materiality matrices and other aspects within sustainability, provide enormous gains to organizations.
Take the opportunity to download the free CEBDS “Sustainable Purchasing Manual”. Click in the link below! If you have any questions, leave your comment!
