“Being transparent about sustainability efforts and results is key to sustainable procurement. The Global Sustainable Enterprise System provides a platform for this, argues expert Karin van IJsselmuide. Univé and Air Traffic Control Netherlands have already begun working with it.”

Sustainable procurement is purchasing with the most positive effects for society, the economy, and the environment that are possible throughout the entire lifecycle of a product (ISO 20400-2017). This term for sustainable purchasing is used internationally by the business sector and is equivalent to the term ‘socially responsible commissioning and purchasing’ invoked by the government. Procurement organizations can have a significant impact on achieving sustainable goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, many laws and legislative proposals are coming towards organizations, such as CSRD, IMVO, and CO2 reporting. This necessitates accountability. There are plenty of reasons to get started, but it must be done in a clear, correct, and verifiable manner.

5 Ground Rules from ACM
If we have learned anything from the recent studies and the sanctions subsequently imposed by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), it is that some companies make a habit of presenting themselves as more sustainable than they actually are. Consequently, sustainability has primarily become a marketing tool, a practice often referred to as greenwashing. The five ground rules issued by ACM provide guidance for both the marketing and procurement departments:

1. Clearly communicate what sustainability benefit the product offers.
2. Support sustainability claims with facts and keep them up to date.
3. Comparisons with other products, services, or companies must be fair.
4. Be honest and specific about sustainability efforts.
5. Ensure that visual claims and certifications are primarily helpful and not confusing for consumers.

Being transparent and honest about sustainability efforts and results is key to sustainable procurement. Merely having an ambition, a sustainable procurement policy, or an action plan to start working on sustainability as a procurement function is not enough. It is therefore necessary to begin measuring sustainable procurement activities and substantiate them with facts. But where do you start? How do you ensure that the procurement process, suppliers, and the products they provide are not based on opportunistic sustainability claims? For this, we employ the process of: tell me, show me, and prove me.

Tell Me, Show Me, and Prove Me

Tell me: start by having suppliers explain how sustainable they already are on themes such as circularity, CO2 reduction, and the health and safety of employees. Show me: if there is insight into the sustainability of your suppliers, you can then ask whether they can substantiate their claims and provided information with facts or evidence. Prove me: in cases of doubt about the provided facts, or if the stakes for your organization are very high, you can have the provided evidence checked by an independent expert or a certifying institution such as KIWA or Control Union.

Sustainability Certifications
Since organizations often do not have all the knowledge in-house or the ability to manage and verify provided sustainability data, it is beneficial that sustainability certifications exist.

But how do you know if such a certification is recognized and validated? Gaining this knowledge, creating your own questionnaires, and subsequently organizing verification is often not an option for companies. Furthermore, it is undesirable for the market because all their clients would then request slightly different information on various themes.

Unique Standard
If the organization decides to request, analyze, and verify data from suppliers, it is crucial to carefully consider what the strategy will be in advance. And also think about the tool you will need for this. There are already various tools available in the market that can assist with this, such as the Global Sustainable Enterprise System (GSES). This is a platform where one can see how each supplier deals with various sustainability themes. GSES operates with a unique overarching standard for measuring the sustainability of organizations and products. This standard recognizes over five hundred existing sustainability standards, certifications, and eco-labels.

UNIVÉ Group
Willem de Jager, strategic procurement advisor at Univé Group: “In the context of CSR, the Univé Group focuses on all Sustainable Development Goals with extra emphasis on ‘good health and well-being,’ ‘climate action,’ and ‘partnerships.’ With the sustainability ambitions of the Univé Group, Procurement and Contract Management can and must start making an impact in the supply chain. What applies to black figures also applies to green figures: it begins with reliable data. In terms of sustainability, we are actually barely aware of what our partners are doing in this area, and as a result, we cannot produce reliable reports. We have begun placing ourselves on the sustainability platform GSES. At the same time, we have asked our suppliers to do the same and to be transparent there, just as we are. This is primarily because we want to know if a sustainable relationship with them also means a collaboration that has positive effects in terms of sustainability, but also to provide suppliers with a platform where they can show where they stand and what ambitions they have. The scores of a supplier in GSES are also accessible to other clients.

As a result, this system is a powerful tool for tender procedures. The verified data in GSES reduce the chances of greenwashing and ensure that we can quickly engage in discussions about the content of the collaboration. We can also provide reliable reports about where we stand. In the coming period, we want to work together with suppliers to review the scores and inventory where we see opportunities for further sustainability.

Air traffic control Netherlands
Eric Sessink, manager contracting at Air Traffic Control Netherlands (LVNL): “LVNL ensures safe handling of air traffic in the Dutch civil airspace. Based on three pillars (climate, circular economy, and healthy & social), goals have been set to achieve a sustainable LVNL. Socially responsible contracting and purchasing is an essential tool to accelerate sustainability. In order to use sustainability distinctly in tenders, we have sought a tool capable of objectively assessing suppliers’ sustainability claims. The tool must be accessible to both Dutch and foreign suppliers and have a robust certification process with a large supplier database. Based on this, GSES emerged as the best option. With this tool, we can see how our suppliers are performing in terms of sustainability. It also provides information that allows us to engage in discussions to improve and monitor this process. Another advantage of the GSES platform is that a supplier can easily be compared to the average of the relevant industry. The sustainability objectives of LVNL are incorporated into tenders to challenge suppliers to contribute as well. Additionally, last year we invited the top 200 of our current suppliers to register on the GSES platform focusing on the pillars of Corporate Social Responsibility, CO2 Reduction, and Circular Economy. LVNL itself fills out the assessment. This allows the outside world to see what efforts we are making in this area.

Out of the approximately 200 current suppliers, 31 suppliers have voluntarily registered so far. Of these, eleven suppliers have been validated by GSES for their sustainability performance. From 2023 onwards, increasingly ambitious criteria will be included in each tender. Currently, registration on GSES for our suppliers remains optional regarding the three pillars. However, depending on how the market develops, we will include the industry average as a minimum requirement in tenders as a criterion for awarding contracts.”

 

House of sustainability 

Image: GSES

Strategic procurement advisor Willem de Jager of Univé Group (see page 39) and contracting manager Eric Sessink of LVNL (see here to the left) share their experiences with GSES.

Action Plan
A sustainability measurement is just the beginning. Of course, it is good to know where each supplier stands, but only then does the embedding of the real strategy begin. It is advisable to create an action plan. This way, you can start discussions with suppliers about the contribution of sustainability to your own objectives and/or include ambitions in contracts.

Insight
To really make progress in this area, insight is essential. The requirements that sustainable procurement places on organizations and individuals will grow along with future legislation and market developments. Therefore, sustainability will always be a concern for the procurement discipline in the future.