Buyer Analytics

A little while ago I wrote that the cornerstone of sustainable procurement was ethical procurement. After this cornerstone is in place... what's next for the procurement professional?

This is where what's important to you, your company and the industry can allow for maximum creativity. Defining the sustainable  procurement strategy should be customized based upon how the buying category uniquely impacts the environment. Here are a couple of examples to get you started.

At the World Resources Institute Ruth Nogueron writes about 10 big questions for corporate forest product buyers. Here are four guidelines that should be incorporated into the sustainable sourcing strategy for forest product buyers.

• Have forests been sustainably managed?
• Have special places, including sensitive ecosystems, been protected?
• Have appropriate environmental controls been applied?
• Has recycled fiber been used appropriately?

Another example comes from Toyota's Green Purchasing Guidelines. A couple worth mentioning.

• Complete Elimination of four substances of concern (lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium)
• Reducing Usage of Other Substances - Toyota has prohibited the use of asbestos and other substances subject to existing regulations, and is working on reducing levels of polyvinyl chlorides and volatile organic compounds.
• Reduction of CO2 emissions and packaging and wrapping materials in logistics

As you can see both of these guidelines are significantly different. However, each one has been customized based upon the industry and the organization's objectives.