To procure means to acquire something in a careful manner. Sustainable procurement essentially involves thoughtful consideration of environmental and social as well as financial aspects when purchasing goods and services. It is about purchasing that goes beyond the up-front costs of making the purchase to determine the whole of life environmental and social costs, or total life cost (TLC). There are many variations associated with different commodities and services. For example, buying local is always best but not always available. An organization with a focus on sustainable procurement aims to: reduce consumption of resources, minimise the environmental impact of the resources it does require, and support and promote environmentally healthy goods.
Some of the issues with sustainable procurement?
Sustainable procurement takes time. The process of sustainable procurement is a complex and time consuming process when done appropriately and can be difficult for small business operators to achieve. Researching information on products or services to determine their environmental and social impacts can be quit onerous.
However options to achieve greater influence for small businesses can be created through partnering with other organizations to increase the purchasing power eg a cooperative of similar services.
Small businesses are also helped by external certifications. This is where an external body or agency certifies the sustainability of a product. Knowing if the products has trusted certification (eg. FSC, Fair Trade, Australian Energy Standards) will save you time and energy as the key questions about the environmental and social costs have been researched by an external body in order for the product to receive the certification. Sustainable procurement can at least be used when purchasing major items like computer, printers and white goods. Suppliers of these products should have environment policies and even carbon reduction reports available for customers.
What you can do?
- Despite the difficulties you can still have sustainable procurement as a goal.
- All individuals and businesses can use start with the following key points.
- The first step in sustainable procurement is always to avoid or reduce consumption.
- Remember ‘the lowest cost option up-front may not be the cheapest over the life of the asset’.
- Have conversations with suppliers to promote sustainable practices.
- Develop a procurement checklist that is used before any new item or services are purchased.