THE

PROCUREMEN
T GAME PLAN
Chapter – 4

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN
PROCUREMENT
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
 Because procurement is responsible for many decisions that affect
society and the environment, you have a key role in helping spread
social responsibility.

 Not only can you make your organization more socially

responsible, but you can also compel other organizations (i.e., your
suppliers) to be more socially responsible.
Socially Responsible Request for
Proposal Questions
 You can increase global social responsibility by including
social responsibility among the other criteria used in
selecting suppliers.
Socially Responsible Request for
Proposal Questions
 1. How does your organization support the communities in which it operates?
 2. How does your organization encourage suppliers to support those communities?
 3. How much money does your organization spend annually with socially diverse suppliers?
 4. How does your organization promote diversity in its own employment practices?
 5. How does your organization encourage its suppliers to have a diverse workforce and supplier base?
 6. What does your organization do to make its operations more environmentally friendly?
 7. How does your organization encourage its suppliers to be more environmentally friendly?
 8. How does your organization monitor compliance with its ethics policy?
 9. How does your organization ensure that human rights are valued in its operations?
 10. How does your organization ensure that its suppliers value human rights?
 11. How does your organization ensure maximum safety in its working conditions?
 12. How does your organization ensure that its suppliers have safe working conditions?
Supplier Code of Conduct
 Todaymore than ever, the public judges a business by the
companies with which it spends its money.
 Such judgments are usually negative in nature

 Laws and customs vary from country to country, and

standards of ethics and social norms may also vary in
different business environments.

 Nevertheless, there is a growing public awareness

regarding social responsibility around the world.
Supplier Code of Conduct
 Actress Pam Anderson rallied supporters to boycott the KFC food chain,
claiming that KFC used suppliers that abused animals.
 4 Sony’s CEO was publicly vilified for Sony advertising on the sexually
provocative TV show Nip/Tuck.
 5 TV celebrity, Kathie Lee Gifford was accused of being responsible for the
sweatshop labor management activities in the Far East, where clothes were
made for her Kathie Lee line and sold at Walmart.
 6 This means that your work is under more scrutiny and can have a bigger
impact on your organization than ever. Smart procurement professionals
know this, and their collective actions have spawned a new trend: the
supplier code of conduct.
Supplier Code of Conduct
 Here are the 10 most commonly addressed points:
 1. All employment must be freely chosen (i.e., your suppliers must have true
employees and not slaves).
 2. All employees must be at or above a specified age.
 3. All employees must work less than a specified number of hours per week.
 4. The supplier must comply with wage laws.
 5. All employees must receive humane treatment.
 6. The supplier may not be discriminatory in its employment decisions and practices.
 7. The supplier’s facility must meet safety standards.
 8. The supplier must have a plan for emergencies.
 9. The supplier must notify its employees of the applicable supplier code of conduct.
 10. The supplier’s compliance with the supplier code of conduct is subject to audit.
Supplier Code of Conduct
 Here are some other things that you can address in your supplier
code of conduct:

 • The supplier must require its suppliers to abide by a supplier code of conduct acceptable to your
organization

 • The supplier must comply with ethical guidelines regarding treatment of animals

 • The supplier must not place advertisements in media where violence, irresponsible sex, racial
intolerance, or profanity is promoted

 • The supplier must have a written plan for pollution reduction

 • The supplier must have a supplier diversity program in place, or have a plan for starting a
supplier diversity program