SUSTAINABILITY
“Broader sustainability targets with suppliers need to be anchored at the supplier ’ s board level ”
PETER SPILLER PARTNER MCKINSEY
operations transformation , supply chain , and procurement topics . He co-leads McKinsey ’ s operations around environmental sustainability , and is a leader of its work in product development and procurement in the Europe , Middle East , and Africa region .
Spiller advises business leaders on ESG strategy , carbon accounting and tracking , supplier sustainability transformations , and supply chain decarbonisation .
How is inflation impacting sustainable procurement practices ? Future-proof procurement is about optimising several dimensions when
sourcing materials and services – from specifications , cost , quality , and lead times to ESG and sustainability compliance .
Sourcing managers are naturally making trade-offs between these dimensions when executing a purchasing event . In many cases , the cost dimension matters most once certain thresholds in quality or specifications are met , and this will also be the case going forward .
Sustainable sourcing may be more expensive today , but it doesn ’ t have to be – it is important to screen category by category and SKU by SKU . Many procurement levers , for example de-specification and demand management , often reduce both cost and carbon footprints at the same time , creating a win-win .
In procurement , will sustainability ever be as ingrained as ‘ cost ’? We need to distinguish between two sustainability dimensions : mandatory requirements and the more consumerled shifts . procurementmag . com 115