Report: Sustainability Begins in the Purchasing Department | Sustainable Life Media

30. September 2008 by admin.

Report: Sustainability Begins in the Purchasing Department | Sustainable Life Media
Report: Sustainability Begins in the Purchasing Department

Procurement professionals are fast becoming a “critical, core element” of corporate sustainability efforts, a new survey finds.

While many companies are focusing their main efficiency efforts around green IT, the use of automated procurement solutions is “quietly emerging as the leading edge of many organizations’ efforts to go green,” according to the survey by KPMG, Inc.

The survey of 600 senior-level procurement professionals finds that 42% of respondents regularly evaluate suppliers on environmental and human rights performance. Another 33% have begun, or are currently launching, a green supply chain program.

While the KPMG survey finds that green procurement is on the rise, it also notes that suppliers’ sustainability and social responsibility records rank low among organizations’ priorities when compared to factors such as price, quality, and reliability.

“There are potential cost benefits to increased attention to sustainability, in particular from purchasing products which require fewer environmental inputs, such as energy,” says the report.

Drivers for building a green procurement strategy can also have knock-on effects to others areas of an organization. A recent report of U.K. IT professionals says the top driver for green IT planning is increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption - often the key green IT objective for sourcing policies as well.

To download the KPMG report, click here (PDF).

Posted in Green Computing, Sustainable Procurement | No Comments »

Report: RFPs Critical to Green IT Success

28. September 2008 by admin.

Report: RFPs Critical to Green IT Success

Struggling to select the right vendors for your green IT upgrades? It all comes down to crafting the right request for proposal (RFP), according to a new Forrester survey.

The survey of U.K. IT professionals finds that well-structured RFP process is essential for any green IT plan to work. Specifically, the RFP process can provide a framework for discussion and gives vendors insight into how seriously the buyer takes its green agenda.

Here’s a peek at how companies are currently focusing their RFPs:

Survey respondents say the top driver for green IT planning is increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption - often the key green IT objective for sourcing policies as well, according to the report.

“Sourcing does not set the green IT agenda, but plays a pivotal role in its implementation, lending its expertise to ensure that vendors in the desktop and datacenter arenas, for example, align the green IT objectives,” the report notes.

The report suggests that the RFP can also signal which areas IT planners intend to push their vendors in the future. Forty-three percent of respondents say they will consider asking vendors to report on what they’ve done to clean up their own manufacturing process in IT products, while 41% will consider asking vendors about setting up a green code of conduct among their own suppliers.

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The Ethical Sourcing Forum

13. December 2007 by admin.

The Ethical Sourcing Forum

New York, USA 13-14 March 2008

TAKE THE ETHICAL SOURCING FORUM (ESF) CHALLENGE

The premise behind the ESF challenge is to make you think and learn!
Develop knowledge and gather information through participation in the industry’s most unique form of learning and engagement…

Click on Ethical Sourcing Forum 2008 North America to download the latest conference brochure!

Secure your place today… and you will:

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Gather and exchange experiences on good implementation practices
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Build partnerships and engage with relevant stakeholders
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Increase your awareness and strengthen your ability to reach your goals
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Benchmark your current experience with other industry practitioners
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Strengthen your ability to impact key issues that are important to you
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If you don’t want to learn, look away now.
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…and many more

KEY TOPICS INCLUDE:

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“Green” is the New Black
Efficient ways to encourage the development of greener manufacturing methods across supply chain partners.
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The Contenders: CSR vs. Sourcing
Learn how to create operating system synergies between CSR and Sourcing organizations that contribute to sustainable outcomes.
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When to Say “I Do”:
Developing Sustainable Factory Remediation Plans
Listen as industry representatives share practical off the ground experience on engaging with suppliers to implement factory level improvement plans.
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Minimizing the Monitoring Industry Divide
Explore your opportunities for partnerships with traditional monitoring institutions which encourage important shifts in practice, minimize perceptions and strengthen industry confidence.
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Forward, Reverse or Turn at the Next Corner?
Is your current social and environmental supply chain approach driving sustainable impact or should you change lanes? Industry practioners share focused, practice oriented experience on the latest changes in company approaches to environmental and social supply chain issues.
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Guess Who´s Coming to Dinner?
How to bring Sourcing, Procurement and Buyers into the CSR conversation.
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Take Your Business Next Door
How to minimize resistance and achieve commitment within complex buyer – supplier business relationship environments.
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Surviving the Impact of Climate Change
This specialized Self Help workshop will provide delegates with practical industry tools and techniques on how to measure climate change effects across your supply chain.
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Purchasing Green?
How to Make Sustainable Procurement More than Just a Goal
Developing sustainable procurement strategies in today’s reality.
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Filling Green Shoes?
How to maintain your environmental commitment when 90% of your eco-footprint is from the supply chain.
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MEASURING IMPACT:
Grassroot Perspectives from Suppliers, Facilities and Workers
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COMMITMENT:
Using Measurements to Motivate Performance, Ownership and Impact
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…and many more.

To optimize interactivity and networking opportunities the places are limited to 200 participants. Register Now to avoid disappointment!

What is an ETHICAL SOURCING FORUM?

The Ethical Sourcing Forum (ESF) is an action oriented continuous learning industry initiative, open to those willing to play an active role in the development and successful implementation of sustainable social and environmental supply chain practices. The ESF platform gathers and compiles practical knowledge on new approaches which contribute to sustainable supply chain practices based on projects and initiatives undertaken by organizations engaged in off-the-ground supply chain activities.
The ESF indentifies industry training needs and collaborates across stakeholders to gather and transfer practical knowledge and good practice that improve the conditions of supply chains worldwide.

THE ESF BUSINESS CASE

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Mini training forums based on off-the ground case studies and activities undertaken by otherindustry members
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Opportunity to build bridges and partnerships with stakeholders
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Issue or industry specific facilitated sessions, addressing your individual learning needs
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Forum sessions aimed at developing or improving your sustainability implementation practices
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Modify or improve existing strategic plans during interactive action orientated training sessions
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Return home with recommendations to strengthen your current performance

For more information contact us directly on the details below:
E-mail: customerservices@intertek.com
Call Intertek on: +44(0)8.706.260.839

Places are limited! Register Now to avoid disappointment!

Due to limited seating availability, early registration will be open to corporations*, industry groups, and government.

* Non consulting

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FederalTimes.com Commentary: Taking steps to buy green

30. November 2007 by admin.

FederalTimes.com
Commentary: Taking steps to buy green
By LUIS A. LUNA
November 29, 2007
Can putting a used towel back on the rack help save the planet? If you’re a traveling Environmental Protection Agency employee, you’re likely to stay at a hotel that gives you that option.
More and more, we are recognizing that many small individual decisions — what we buy, what we keep, what we toss — have a significant cumulative impact on the environment.
When we at EPA buy goods or services, we take environmental impact into account. After all, whatever we use to accomplish EPA’s mission consumes the Earth’s resources. We thus take care to buy things that minimize the agency’s impact on the environment.
Among the most celebrated of EPA’s green purchasing initiatives is one affecting how we select meeting and conference services.

A hotel or conference site vendor must now include information about the facility’s environmental practices. Does it leave linens and towels in rooms for patrons to reuse? How efficient is its energy and water usage? Is it near public transportation, or does it offer shuttles? Is the check-in and check-out process paperless? Does it recycle?
Our purchasing staff then considers this information when evaluating proposals. The more environmentally friendly a vendor’s policies, the more competitive its offer. For meeting space and conference service providers who want to increase their chances of doing business with EPA, it’s an incentive to adopt greener practices.
Is this just feel-good stuff, or does it really make a difference? Take a look at a case study done by EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, which quantified the benefits of environmental improvements achieved by a luxury 834-room hotel in Washington:
• Recycling paper and corrugated cardboard instead of simply hauling it to the landfill saved about $10,400 a year in trucking costs alone.
• Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights, installing more energy-efficient air-conditioning chillers, and adding variable frequency drives in electric fans and water pump motors saved another $125,000 per year in electricity.
• Replacing old five-gallon-per-flush toilets with more water-efficient ones reduced water bills by $150,000 a year.
All this not only adds to the hotel’s bottom line, it also means the hotel now produces less waste, uses less energy and consumes fewer resources.
This same principle can be applied to any purchase, no matter how small. For instance, when EPA buys business cards, we now specify 100 percent recycled paper, with at least 50 percent post-consumer fiber — material recovered from waste destined for disposal, having completed its life as a consumer item. That’s the highest environmental standard in the government for recycled content. It means fewer trees are cut, with more paper kept out of the waste stream.
The concept works at the end of our purchases’ useful life as well. We make sure our electronic equipment doesn’t simply go to the dump. And we shared what we learned about disposing of electronic equipment in an environmentally responsible manner with other agencies. Our government-wide contracting vehicle, the Recycling Electronics and Asset Disposition program, allows federal agencies to make sure obsolete electronics will be safely taken away for reuse, recycling or proper disposal. Since the government disposes of about 10,000 old computers each week, the program prevents a lot of potentially harmful material from ending up in the ground.
EPA’s acquisition professionals are constantly looking for new ways to use the agency’s purchases to promote environmental health. Their colleagues at other agencies can do the same. There are undoubtedly many more opportunities to harness the government’s vast buying power and stimulate the market for green products and services of all types. By doing this often enough, agencies can encourage new industries, reduce consumption, increase America’s energy independence and help the environment.
Luis A. Luna is assistant administrator for administration and resource management and chief acquisition officer at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Posted in Sustainable Procurement, Green Purchasing | No Comments »

EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - RESPIRO Conference on Socially Responsible Procurement – Lille, 3-4 December 2007

29. November 2007 by admin.

EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - RESPIRO Conference on Socially Responsible Procurement – Lille, 3-4 December 2007
RESPIRO Conference on Socially Responsible Procurement – Lille, 3-4 December 2007
Introduction
The RESPIRO Conference is the final Conference of the EU-funded RESPIRO project, and is linked to Procura , ICLEI’s European Campaign on Sustainable Procurement, and hosts a EUROCITIES seminar on responsible procurement. It aims to increase the inclusion of social requirements in public and private sector purchasing activities through encouraging an exchange of experiences between public and private sector procurers and suppliers.
Description
The issue of socially responsible procurement SRP, and Corporate Social Responsibility CSR will be addressed in two important sectors:

Construction – As Europe’s largest industrial employer, efforts to promote CSR principles - e.g. healthy and safe working conditions, using sustainable building materials and excluding the use of child labour - can have a significant impact on many people.
Textiles and Clothing – A sector under high pressure from global competition where CSR principles such as quality employment can help to profile European industry and improve the conditions of millions of workers.

The Conference is linked to Procura , ICLEI’s European Campaign on Sustainable Procurement, and hosts a EUROCITIES seminar on responsible procurement.
Programme
Location
Lille, France
Register
Links
For more information and to register, please visit the conference website

Posted in Socially Responsible Sourcing, Sustainable Procurement | No Comments »

Council buying power helps save the planet and boosts local communities

12. October 2007 by admin.

eGov monitor
Council buying power helps save the planet and boosts local communities
Source: Peterborough City Council
The ‘buying power’ of local authorities can help save the planet while giving a boost to local communities, delegates to a ‘sustainable procurement’ conference being hosted by Peterborough City Council will be told on Monday 15 October.

The city council will present one of 10 case studies that will demonstrate the environmental and financial benefits of modern buying policies during the conference that will be attended by representatives from national and local government organisations.

Delegates will be welcomed to the day-long conference at the Key Theatre by city council chief executive Gillian Beasley. She said: “Nationally the public sector spends £150 billion on buying goods and services from external suppliers and English councils represent £42 billion of that total.

“Local authorities can therefore use their buying power to influence the manufacture and performance of these products, leading to social, economic and environmental benefits.

“Hosting this conference builds on Peterborough’s status as an Environment City and a sustainable transport demonstration town.”

The conference will primarily focus on the sustainable procurement successes being achieved by local authorities in the East of England with other examples being showcased by Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Thurrock, Luton, Bedfordshire and Southend.

Peterborough will highlight three projects:

• The adoption of software that can automatically update and switch off the council’s 2,500 computers at night, saving an estimated £50,000 and 250 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually through reduced electricity usage.

• Replacement of desktop printers, fax machines and photocopiers with ‘multi-functional devices’ that automatically print on both sides of paper and offer better cost controls; an estimated 25 per cent saving on paper usage; and a reduction in energy consumption.

• The Electrical Appliance Recycling Programme EARP, which repairs electrical goods for re-sale to needy families or recycles re-usable components while also providing useful work-related training for people seeking employment.

The city council’s procurement project director Adam Jacobs added: “Sustainable procurement has the potential to offer wider social, economic and environmental benefits. It is a hot topic, given the government’s ambition for the UK to be a European Union leader in this sector by 2009.

“An independent, business-led Sustainable Procurement Task Force published its first report in June 2006 and the government published its own action plan in March 2007. A local authority action plan is also expected shortly.”

The Peterborough conference is being supported by the North East Centre of Excellence, which takes the lead on sustainable procurement for all nine local government regional centres of excellence in England.

Delegates include representatives from local authorities in the East of England, Government Office for the East of England GO-East, the East of England Development Agency, the Audit Commission, Envirowise which delivers government-funded advice to UK businesses and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Defra.

Posted in Government Procurement, Sustainable Procurement | No Comments »

SDCExec.com - Socially Responsible Sourcing

26. September 2007 by admin.

SDCExec.com - Article - Socially Responsible Sourcing
Socially Responsible Sourcing
TradeCard partners with Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production to identify socially compliant manufacturers, promote code of ethical conduct
By Editorial Staff

New York — TradeCard Inc., a provider of extended supply chain solutions, has partnered with Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the certification of lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing throughout the world, to promote social responsibility on TradeCard’s network of 3,000 global trading partners.

Factory certification data from WRAP will be available on the TradeCard Platform to enable buyers to check ethical compliance statuses and social track records prior to transacting with a factory.

WRAP works with retailers, buyers and interested stakeholders to enforce a Universal Code of Ethical Conduct that takes into account factories’ compliance with labor laws and workplace conditions.

“TradeCard is excited to be making a positive impact on the enforcement of lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing practices,” said Kurt Cavano, CEO of TradeCard Inc. “Socially compliant manufacturing is a priority for consumers, brands and retailers worldwide, and TradeCard is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards for humane and ethical production on the TradeCard Platform. Thousands of TradeCard users that transact on the Platform each day will have the ability to make a difference by confirming WRAP certification.”

TradeCard works with clients that range from $10 million to over $20 billion in revenue to eliminate waste and delay from the sourcing process. Financial services available on the TradeCard Platform are designed to help companies of all sizes to improve margin and cash flow.

WRAP operates worldwide in 70 countries. A list of factories certified by WRAP is published on the organization’s Web site

Posted in Socially Responsible Sourcing | No Comments »

Novo Nordisk Ranks Supersector Leader in the 2007 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes

25. September 2007 by admin.

Novo Nordisk Ranks Supersector Leader in the 2007 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes
Novo Nordisk Ranks Supersector Leader in the 2007 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Novo Nordisk, a
world leader in diabetes care, announced that effective today, the company
is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) as
best-in-class in the healthcare industry — one of 18 global supersectors
analyzed.
The latest global analysis of corporate sustainability leadership was
based on a thorough analysis of companies’ economic, environmental and
social performance, assessing issues including corporate governance, risk
management, branding, climate change, supply chain standards and labor
practices.
The report concludes “Novo Nordisk is the leading company in terms of
sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry. Sustainability is an
integral part of its corporate strategy and business organization.”
The report continues, “Novo Nordisk is particularly strong in the
social dimension where it achieved the industry top ratings in human
capital development, corporate citizenship/philanthropy, and social
reporting.” The company’s responsible sourcing, environmental management,
bioethics and climate strategy also achieve high scores.
“This honor provides us further encouragement for operating our
business according to our Triple Bottom Line philosophy — a company that
can be economically vital, as well as socially and environmentally
responsible,” said Martin Soeters, president, Novo Nordisk in the United
States.
“Our passion for changing diabetes is supported by an understanding
that sustainability in business is not just possible but necessary. By
putting the patient at the center of all we do — from providing the best
therapies to patients and advocating our employees’ volunteerism with
patient groups and at diabetes camps to our environmental stewardship
through water conservation efforts and our climate change strategy — we
strive to be successful and responsible.”
The indexes, which currently comprise USD$5.6 billion assets under
management, are used as a tool by asset managers in 15 countries to guide
their investment decisions.
Novo Nordisk has been a component of the Dow Jones Sustainability
Indexes every year since the launch in 1999.
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company with an 84-year history of
innovation and achievement in diabetes care. The company has the broadest
diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced
products within the area of insulin delivery systems. In addition to
diabetes care, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as
hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy, and hormone therapy for
women. Novo Nordisk’s business is driven by the Triple Bottom Line: a
commitment to economic success, environmental soundness, and social
responsibility to employees and customers. With headquarters in Denmark,
Novo Nordisk employs more than 25,000 employees in 79 countries, and
markets its products in 179 countries. Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed
on the stock exchanges in Copenhagen and London. Its ADRs are listed on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘NVO’. For global information,
visit novonordisk.com; for United States information, visit
novonordisk-us.com.

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Sustainability tops retail agenda - Talking Retail

25. September 2007 by admin.

Sustainability tops retail agenda - Talking Retail
Sustainability tops retail agenda

Green issues, “multi-channel” retailing and changing consumer demands will top the agenda at next year’s World Retail Congress in Barcelona.

The topics were decided upon after a meeting of the congress advisory board in Paris.

The board includes Greg Sage, international corporate affairs director for Tesco, David Shriver, strategic advisor at Carrefour, and B&Q chief executive Ian Cheshire.

During the meeting, much emphasis was placed on the importance of the sustainability debate, especially energy policies, ethical sourcing and sustainable materials.

This will now form a key theme of the congress.

The advisory board recommended that the congress seeks to identify a number of “sustainability pledges” during the debate, which would be endorsed by delegates and so form a set of global benchmarks for best practice.

Said Cheshire: “Sustainability has become a serious business issue for retailers because the consumer has come to place far greater value on it than ever before.”

Multi-channel retailing - selling through the web, catalogues, and call centres as well as stores - had also grown in importance over the last year, the advisory board decided.

Next year’s World Retail Congress takes place from 9-11 April 2008.

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GreenBiz News | Businesses Embracing Green Procurement, Survey Finds

17. September 2007 by admin.

GreenBiz News | Businesses Embracing Green Procurement, Survey Finds
Businesses Embracing Green Procurement, Survey Finds
Source: GreenBiz.com

According to a new survey from EyeForProcurement, more than 50 percent of companies have policies on greening their supply chain, and companies are nearly unanimous in their belief that green supply chains will only continue growing.

The survey asked 188 procurement professionals — primarily in the United States, Europe and Asia — about their companies’ practices, policies and plans for reducing the environmental impact of the materials used in their work.

The two most heavily represented sectors in the survey were the transportation/logistics fields and the high-tech industry. The retail and apparel sectors were minimally represented, which suggests to the study’s authors that going green is not a high priority for businesses in that field.

The vast majority of products that companies are sourcing sustainably are packaging materials and the raw materials used in manufacturing, with 29 percent and 24 percent of respondents purchasing those materials from sustainable sources.

Two-thirds of the professionals in the survey said that they are practicing green procurement to support their companies’ environmental or sustainability strategies, while 49 percent also said they’re responding to customers’ interest in eco-friendly products and services.

Although companies are increasingly aware of the benefits and importance of green procurement, most of them are only acquiring a small portion of their materials in that way. Only 13 percent of respondents are sourcing half or more of their products and services sustainably, while 55 percent said they source less than 10 percent of green goods.

“The procurement industry appears to be divided on the issue of the cost of implementing green purchasing practices,” the survey notes, with just over half (51 percent) ready to pay a premium for eco-friendly products, and the remaining 49 percent seeing additional costs as an obstacle to sustainable procurement.

Regardless of the obstacles to greening the supply chain, companies agree that it is not a passing trend. Ninety-eight percent of the companies responding to the survey said that green purchasing will continue to expand, and the report notes that customers from all sectors and all countries are increasingly demanding eco-friendly products and services.

The survey was conducted by EyeForProcurement.com, which will be hosting the 2007 Green Purchasing Summit this November in Miami, Florida. More information about the survey and the conference are available at http://www.eyeforprocurement.com/green/

Posted in Green Purchasing | No Comments »