Sustainable procurement
Responsible purchasing
Definition
Sustainable procurement means building environmental, social and ethical criteria into purchasing decisions, alongside price, quality and delivery, and working with suppliers to improve their practices.
ISO 20400 (2017) is the international guidance standard on the topic. In practice, it covers a supplier code of conduct, risk mapping by category and country, supplier assessments (often through EcoVadis), CSR criteria in tenders and contracts, and improvement plans with the suppliers that score poorly.
It is one of the four EcoVadis themes, and it is how the CSRD, the CSDDD and the French duty of vigilance reach suppliers who are not in scope themselves.
Go further
- Sustainable procurement: principles and best practices
- Why include suppliers in your sustainable procurement strategy?
- Supplier engagement with Ditto