Damage to broader efforts to solve environmental challenges
SUSTAINABILITY
that 19 % didn ’ t know how sustainable their own products were , whilst almost 50 % didn ’ t believe their organisation was being sufficiently transparent with consumers , clients and regulators about sustainability . 5 % of supply chain managers also felt that their businesses were actively misleading clients or customers about sustainability . A sad indictment on the current state of play .”
Nevertheless , on a more positive note , Underdown believes that “ sustainability is , thankfully , becoming a big deal in both public and private sector procurement ”.
“ More and more , ethical leadership within a boardroom is taking root , alongside the fact that ‘ being seen to be green ’ helps companies to sell their goods and services . Not only is sustainability increasingly driving consumer behaviour , there is a raft of new industry guidance and regulations that are pushing sustainability up the agenda .”
How can procurement functions ensure that their operations are actually sustainable ? There is no doubt that trying to ensure your organisation is actually sustainable is a challenge , particularly when most organisations have to balance a number of spinning plates simultaneously – and each one represents a different set of challenges .
Underdown explains that a good starting point is to ensure you have solid information and a thorough understanding of your supply chain . “ Unless you understand what you are buying and who you are buying from , you cannot easily make a claim about the product you sell ,” says Underdown .
Damage to broader efforts to solve environmental challenges
By conducting greenwashing activities , organisations can also impact broader efforts to solve environmental challenges within the industry . Underdown says : “ If a sector leader claims to be taking leadership in terms of reducing its environmental impacts , it just serves to distract media and public attention from issues within that sector and reduce consumer awareness of perhaps the more sustainable activities of real market innovators .”
140 May 2022