Not long ago, sustainability sat somewhere between the CSR team and marketing, a set of commitments loosely connected to what actually happened in the supply chain. It lived in reports and pledges, while the daily work of sourcing, negotiating and onboarding suppliers carried on largely untouched. That gap has closed fast.
Procurement now finds itself at the centre of one of the biggest shifts in corporate accountability. Most of a company’ s environmental and social footprint doesn’ t happen within its own walls. It happens several tiers deep, in the factories, farms and subcontractors that rarely get a mention but carry most of the risk. The pressure is coming from every direction at once.
Regulators are turning voluntary ESG ambitions into legal obligations, and due diligence laws now ask for evidence, not intent. Investors are asking harder questions about supply chain exposure, and reading weak supplier governance as a warning sign. Customers will walk away from a brand over practices happening
80 October 2026