One of the key talking points in the procurement industry right now is sustainability and “green” sourcing. Companies are now being held accountable for the actions of their suppliers and there are no longer excuses for irresponsible behaviour within supply chains.
Issues such as pollution, labour mistreatment, or sub-par quality testing have created a strong focus to not only measure suppliers more broadly, but to identify and develop smaller suppliers who can be partners in developing “green”, sustainable products.
This approach requires an integration of the suppliers into corporate objectives and operations and procurement must now educate itself on the opportunities for “green” products and technologies relevant to its industry and customer base.
Building an expertise in this area will be critical to being able to maintain a leading role in executing corporate strategy. Therefore, you need to be able to identify and develop innovative suppliers to help them meet their corporate sustainability goals.
Internally, there are three key drivers behind sustainable procurement initiatives, namely risk management, cost reduction and value creation.
Having a sustainable procurement programme in place is definitely on the way to becoming a competitive advantage for some firms, but will you be one of them?
At Smart Procurement World 2012 (13-15 November), our speakers and delegates will be sharing their unique insights into sustainability and procurement in South Africa.As all sustainable business roads lead through the procurement function join us as some of the country’s top CPOs and Supply Chain Managers discuss, consider and benchmark the ways in which this can be central to all companies’ CSR visions and sustainable strategies.
For more information visit www.smartprocurementworld.com
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