Sustainable Procurement Manifesto

Sustainable Procurement Manifesto

What does sustainability mean for my enterprise? How do I comply with emerging laws and regulations in the supply chain responsibility and the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CRSD)? How can to influence my supply chain and use my company as a force for good? How do I request the correct data from suppliers?

Organisations often quickly need to answer and solve many, often complex, issues concerning sustainability. At the same time, mapping and measuring sustainability goals is an essential aspect of working towards a future-proof procurement organisation.

Unfortunately, this task has proven to be too complex for individual organisations. Therefore now is the time to actively work together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable society [or economy] through Sustainable Procurement.

Governments and companies worldwide buy billions of euros worth of products, works and services annually. Herein lies an enormous potential to jointly address today’s pressing sustainability issues.

Therefore, the Global Sustainable Enterprise System (GSES), Data for Good, governments and leading private sector companies initiated the Sustainable Procurement Manifesto. A Manifesto that aims to make a difference across sectors and national borders.

How can we facilitate and accelerate a sustainable transition with the Sustainable Procurement Manifesto?

1. Monitoring quantitatively sustainable procurement;
2. Using one universal language for sustainability, uniformising data, and creating synergistic goals;
3. Providing tools and resources to help the private sector comply with relevant laws and regulations.

For whom is the Sustainable Procurement Manifesto?

• All private companies worldwide can participate in the manifesto by simply signing it. They may then call themselves supporters of Sustainable Procurement;
• All procurement professionals can sign the Manifesto as private individuals and may call themselves sponsors of the International Manifesto of Sustainable Procurement;
• All public organisations can sign the Manifesto and, after signing, are supporters of the Manifesto.

How to implement Sustainable Procurement after signing?

1. Intake with tailored advice for your enterprise;
2. Draw up an action plan: With the Sustainable Procurement action plan, your enterprise works towards concrete results and starts a process of monitoring and verifying. The Manifesto – led by the GSES and Data for Good – supports you in drawing up the plan by organising walk-in consultations and webinars.
   
   

The topics in the action plan include CSR, CO2, Biodiversity, Circular Economy, Health & Safety, Socially Responsible Purchasing and the SDGs. If applicable, CSRD, Chain Responsibility, and product measurements could potentially also be part of the plan.

1. Nine Steps

• Assessment: take note of the Sustainable Procurement (DI) possibilities and determine how you see those opportunities contributing to the social goals through DI. For example, by measuring your suppliers for sustainability;
• Framework: choose a framework that is universal and fits your organisation. The Manifesto offers insight into over 550 tools and methods and aims to standardise all the tools and techniques for sustainability measurement;
• Pilots get started and apply DI;
• Broadening: roll out DI throughout the organisation;
• Securing: anchors the application of DI in its policy and the internal systems or agreements;
• Leadership: use DI as a standard and show leadership towards the supply chain;
• Measurement: quantitatively measure the sustainability status of your suppliers (and, if applicable, your product assortment), and verify the measurements by an independent third party (certification body or demonstrably equivalent);
• Encouragement: push the supply chain through sustainable data requests to share more (verified) data by inviting suppliers to do so;
• Request: encourage the supply chain through “sustainable sector requests” to share more (verified) data by inviting suppliers to do so together with peers (other commissioning parties from your sector or cross-sector).

2. Secure action plan

Evaluate and report annually on the progress of your action plan. Inform the board and all the stakeholders. If necessary, adjust the action plan according to the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.

3. Monitor progress

For annual monitoring, manifest Sustainable Procurement offers the online GSES platform, Data for Good Platform and free tools such as Supply Chain Footprint Template, Action Plan examples, and ISO 20400 info sessions.

4. Collaborate with peers

Collectively procure sustainably with other Contracting Parties.

The Sustainable Contracting Manifesto and the recommended tools and (free) templates of action plans are in line with the following:

• ISO 20400
• Sustainable Development Goals framework
• Green Deal Procurement
• ISO 26000
• CSRD – Corporate Social Responsibility Directives (if applicable)

Participating countries

The International Manifesto is an umbrella initiative of all country manifestos where the impact of all manifestos is tracked by country, continent, and the entire world.
By doing so, we want to unite and stimulate as much purchasing power nationally and internationally as possible to accelerate sustainable and social transitions.

• Q1 23 starts in the Netherlands
• Q1 23 starts in Belgium
• Q1 2023 Start in Germany
• Q2 23 Start in Dubai
• Q2 2023 Start in Abu Dhabi
• Q3 2023 Malaysia
• Q3 2023 Start in Saudi Arabia

Join the leaders in Sustainable Procurement today, learn, motivate and make an impact. Leverage your purchasing power, too and make the sustainable transition.